The search result changed since you submitted your search request. Documents might be displayed in a different sort order.
  • search hit 2 of 12
Back to Result List

Age at first drink moderates the impact of current stressful life events on drinking behavior in young adults

  • Background: Recent evidence from animal experiments and studies in humans suggests that early age at first drink (AFD) may lead to higher stress-induced drinking. The present study aimed to extend these findings by examining whether AFD interacted with stressful life events (SLE) and/or with daily hassles regarding the impact on drinking patterns among young adults. Method: In 306 participants of an epidemiological cohort study, AFD was assessed together with SLE during the past 3 years, daily hassles in the last month, and drinking behavior at age 22. As outcome variables, 2 variables were derived, reflecting different aspects of alcohol use: the amount of alcohol consumed in the last month and the drinking frequency, indicated by the number of drinking days in the last month. Results: Linear regression models revealed an interaction effect between the continuous measures of AFD and SLE on the amount of alcohol consumed. The earlier young adults had their first alcoholic drink and the higher the levels of SLE they were exposedBackground: Recent evidence from animal experiments and studies in humans suggests that early age at first drink (AFD) may lead to higher stress-induced drinking. The present study aimed to extend these findings by examining whether AFD interacted with stressful life events (SLE) and/or with daily hassles regarding the impact on drinking patterns among young adults. Method: In 306 participants of an epidemiological cohort study, AFD was assessed together with SLE during the past 3 years, daily hassles in the last month, and drinking behavior at age 22. As outcome variables, 2 variables were derived, reflecting different aspects of alcohol use: the amount of alcohol consumed in the last month and the drinking frequency, indicated by the number of drinking days in the last month. Results: Linear regression models revealed an interaction effect between the continuous measures of AFD and SLE on the amount of alcohol consumed. The earlier young adults had their first alcoholic drink and the higher the levels of SLE they were exposed to, the disproportionately more alcohol they consumed. Drinking frequency was not affected by an interaction of these variables, while daily hassles and their interaction with AFD were unrelated to drinking behavior. Conclusions: These findings highlight the importance of early age at drinking onset as a risk factor for later heavy drinking under high load of SLE. Prevention programs should aim to raise age at first contact with alcohol. Additionally, support in stressful life situations and the acquisition of effective coping strategies might prevent heavy drinking in those with earlier drinking onset.show moreshow less

Export metadata

Additional Services

Search Google Scholar Statistics
Metadaten
Author details:Dorothea Blomeyer, Arlette F. Buchmann, Brigitte Schmid, Christine Jennen-Steinmetz, Martin H. Schmidt, Tobias BanaschewskiORCiD, Manfred LauchtGND
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1530-0277.2011.01447.x
ISSN:0145-6008
Title of parent work (English):Alcoholism : clinical and experimental research ; the official journal of the American Medical Society on Alcoholism and the Research Society on Alcoholism
Publisher:Wiley-Blackwell
Place of publishing:Malden
Publication type:Article
Language:English
Year of first publication:2011
Publication year:2011
Release date:2017/03/26
Tag:Age at First Drink; Daily Hassles; Drinking Behavior; Longitudinal Study; Stressful Life Events
Volume:35
Issue:6
Number of pages:7
First page:1142
Last Page:1148
Funding institution:German Research Foundation (DFG)
Organizational units:Humanwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Strukturbereich Kognitionswissenschaften / Department Psychologie
Peer review:Referiert
Institution name at the time of the publication:Humanwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Psychologie
Accept ✔
This website uses technically necessary session cookies. By continuing to use the website, you agree to this. You can find our privacy policy here.