Does Beginning to Drink at an early Age CAUSE Later Alcohol Abuse or Other Problems?
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) has warned against assuming that early onset of drinking causes later drinking abuse problems. It points out that “It is not clear whether starting to drink at an early age actually causes alcoholism or whether it simply indicates an existing vulnerability to alcohol use disorders (26). For example, both early drinking and alcoholism have been linked to personality characteristics such as strong tendencies to act impulsively and to seek out new experiences and sensations (27). Some evidence indicates that genetic factors may contribute to the relationship between early drinking and subsequent alcoholism (28,29).” i That federal agency’s advice against assuming that early drinking of alcohol causes later alcohol abuse is generally ignored by alcohol activists. For example, Joseph Califano, head of the Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) misleadingly asserts that “teen drinking is the number one source of adult alc