Citation

Lynskey MT, Bucholz KK, Madden PAF, Heath AC. J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs 2007; 68(6): 798-804.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, 4560 Clayton Road, Suite 1000, Saint Louis, Missouri 63110, USA. mlynskey@wustl.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, Alcohol Research Documentation, Inc., Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

17960297

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to estimate associations between early-onset alcohol use/intoxication and subsequent risks of alcohol-related driving risks in young women after control for familial liability for these behaviors. METHOD: Self-reported data on alcohol use and associated risks were collected from a representative sample of 3,786 Missouri-born adolescent female twins. RESULTS: After statistical control for familial liability to alcohol-related driving risks, alcohol dependence, and length of exposure to risk (i.e., time between the earlier of age at onset of drinking or age 16 [the minimum legal driving age in Missouri]), young women who reported early-onset alcohol use/intoxication had odds of alcohol-related driving risks that were from 1.6 to 2.2 times higher than those with a later onset of alcohol use or intoxication. CONCLUSIONS: Young women who commence drinking at an early age are at heightened risks for subsequent alcohol-related driving risks, and these associations cannot be explained entirely by familial liability for these behaviors.

Language: en