Objective: To explore whether people who start drinking at an early age are more likely to have gotten into fights after drinking ever and in the past year after controlling for history of alcohol dependence and frequency of heavy drinking.
Design: In 1992, the U.S. Census Bureau interviewed in-person 42,862 randomly selected adults age 18 or older, mean age 44, household response rate 91.9%, and in- person response rate 97.4%. The survey included questions regarding ages of drinking onset, frequency of heavy drinking, and whether respondents were ever or in the past year in fights after drinking alcohol.
Results: Even after controlling for personal history of alcohol dependence, years of drinking, frequency of heavy drinking, smoking, drug use, and other personal characteristics associated with the age respondents started drinking, relative to respondents who did not begin drinking until age 21 or older, those who started drinking prior to age 16 were 2.9-4.1 times more likely to have ever in their lives and at least 3 times more likely in the past year to have been in a fight after drinking.
Conclusions: An early age of drinking onset was associated with alcohol-related violence not only among persons under age 21 but among adults as well. Clinical, legal and community interventions to delay age of drinking onset should be expanded.
Learning Objectives: The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism funded the survey analyzed in this report.
Keywords: Alcohol, Violence
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism funded the survey analyzed in this report.
Disclosure not received
Relationship: Not Received.