Addiction Alcohol Addiction The Link Between Early Drinking Age and Risk of Alcoholism By Buddy T Buddy T Facebook Twitter Buddy T is an anonymous writer and founding member of the Online Al-Anon Outreach Committee with decades of experience writing about alcoholism. Learn about our editorial process Updated on November 19, 2020 Medically reviewed Verywell Mind articles are reviewed by board-certified physicians and mental healthcare professionals. Medical Reviewers confirm the content is thorough and accurate, reflecting the latest evidence-based research. Content is reviewed before publication and upon substantial updates. Learn more. by John C. Umhau, MD, MPH, CPE Medically reviewed by John C. Umhau, MD, MPH, CPE John C. Umhau, MD, MPH, CPE is board-certified in addiction medicine and preventative medicine. He is the medical director at Alcohol Recovery Medicine. For over 20 years Dr. Umhau was a senior clinical investigator at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Learn about our Medical Review Board Print Westend61 / Getty Images Young people who start drinking before age 15 are significantly more likely to develop alcohol use disorders as adults than those who wait until after age 18, but researchers are not sure if early-onset drinking is a marker for higher risk or a direct risk factor. Researchers at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) examined data from a three-year study of 22,316 drinkers who are now 18 years or older. They looked at the associations between the first incidence of alcohol dependence or abuse and three age-of-first-drink groups—younger than 15, between 15 and 17, and 18 years or older. Drinking Before Age 15 Increases the Risk of Alcoholism The scientists were careful to control for other risk factors for developing drinking problems, such as family history, duration of exposure to alcohol and other childhood risk factors. The key finding of the NIAAA research was that people who started drinking before age 15 were 50% more likely to become alcohol dependent as adults. The same was true to a lesser extent for those who started drinking between ages 15 and 17. Press Play for Advice on Preventing Addiction Hosted by Editor-in-Chief and therapist Amy Morin, LCSW, this episode of The Verywell Mind Podcast shares strategies for preventing your kids from developing addictions, featuring bestselling author Jessica Lahey. Click below to listen now. Follow Now: Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Google Podcasts Impaired Executive Cognitive Function "Past studies have often suggested that this association might result from common risk factors predisposing people to both early drinking and alcohol use disorders. Although the current study does not provide conclusive evidence that early drinking directly increases alcohol use disorder risk, it suggests that it is premature to rule out the possibility of such a direct effect." said Deborah A. Dawson, staff scientist at the NIAAA, in a news release. The NIAAA researchers believe that impaired executive cognitive function leads young people to make choices that lean toward the immediate pleasure associated with heavy drinking rather than choices to avoid the long-term risks of alcohol use disorders. But the question they have not answered is whether the impaired executive cognitive function leads to heavy early-onset drinking, or the early heavy drinking causes the impaired executive cognitive function. Alcoholism Prevention Should Target Younger Children Regardless, the NIAAA researchers conclude that prevention programs and public health policies should be targeted at children under age 15 and underage drinking, in general, to try to delay the onset of drinking alcohol as long as possible. "The data support the notion of delaying the onset of drinking behavior as late as possible as an important principle for the prevention of alcohol use disorders later in life," said NIAAA researcher Howard B. Moss. "More specifically, these findings provide the scientific basis for those prevention programs that focus on decreasing underage drinking, as well as supporting those public-health policies that are geared towards the prevention of underage drinking." Best Drug Addiction Treatment Centers Sources Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Dawson, D.A., et al. Age at First Drink and the First Incidence of Adult-Onset DSM-IV Alcohol Use Disorders. Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research. December 2008 By Buddy T Buddy T is an anonymous writer and founding member of the Online Al-Anon Outreach Committee with decades of experience writing about alcoholism. See Our Editorial Process Meet Our Review Board Share Feedback Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! What is your feedback? Other Helpful Report an Error Submit Get Treatment for Addiction Advertiser Disclosure × The offers that appear in this table are from partnerships from which Verywell Mind receives compensation.