(ABC) -- Many studies have found a link between how young you were when you had your first drink and later problem behaviors.
Now, New York published in the journal “Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research” has a different perspective.
Researchers looked at almost 45,000 15 year olds who had experience with alcohol.
They found a significant association between age at first drink and problem behaviors including:
- Alcohol abuse
- Smoking
- Marijuana use
- And poor school performance
But this was true only for those whose drinking turned to drunkenness – not among those who were never drunk.
The authors say early drunkenness, not early drinking, is the real risk factor and that should be the focus of preventative programs.
