Genetic and Environmental Predictors of Early Alcohol Use

What makes one child pass through adolescence with barely a nod to alcohol experimentation awhile another one begins drinking in fourth grade and progresses toward alcoholism by the time he's 30 years old? Based upon a growing body of research, it's clear that a complex mix of genetic and environmental interactions influence whether a person will begin drinking at an early age and progress to alcoholism or not.

There's no doubt that genetic factors, such as a variation in alcohol-metabolizing genes and susceptibility to alcohol's effects, play a big part in whether that first drink leads to another. But other personality traits that may be partly genetic can also affect whether a child is resilient to alcohol or begins to drink early in life. Things such as anxiety, depression, or a tendency to crave excitement may lead to early alcohol experimentation as a means to handle stress or provide a desired element of danger.

There are many more environmental risk factors, both individual and family, that may precipitate early experimentation with substances. Some individual factors are:

• Feelings of alienation - Having a weak attachment to parents, little bond with school, and little consideration for community rules/laws.
• Aggressive behavior- Aggressive behavior at ages 5, 6, and 7 is a predictor of early and continued substance use.
• Favorable attitude about drinking- developed early in life, or fewer negative attitudes toward substance use.
• Lack of religious beliefs- Those with belief in a higher being often feel as if life has more meaning and that things will be okay, even when difficult.
• Lack of control- Those adolescents who feel as if they have no control over their destiny are more likely to drink early than those who feel as if they shape their own future.

Family or external environment risk factors include:

• Early life stressors, such as abuse or exposure to violence.
• Accessibility to alcohol- especially when parents or siblings are heavy users of alcohol.
• Lack of parental monitoring- such as knowing where children are and with whom.
• Uninvolved or inconsistent parenting style- that may lead to feelings of alienation.
• Unclear expectations- parents either ignore substance use or are unclear about expectations and consequences.
• Negative communication- between child and parent.
• Family transitions- such as divorce, remarriage or other situations that may be stressful.

The good news is that parents can affect their child's choice to use substances. Warm, loving parenting with clear rules and expectations, monitoring of your child's activities, and opportunities to learn skills to resist negative peer pressure go a long way in early substance use prevention.

Fast Facts About Adolescents

At any given time, up to 15 percent of children and adolescents have some symptoms of depression. The incidence of depressive disorders markedly increases after puberty. By 14 years of age, depressive disorders are more than twice as common in girls as in boys.

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