A new alcohol research study finds that having your first drink at an early age may result in more drinking later on because of stress.
“It has long been known that an early beginning of alcohol use is associated with more drinking in general, and with more severe problems resulting from this alcohol use, one of which would be alcoholism,” said Dorothea Bromeyer, the lead author of the study. “We found that the impact of stressful life events on drinking behavior depends on the age at first drink.”
The study consisted of 166 women and 140 men. About half of the people involved in the study had their first taste of alcohol before they were 14 years old. The study learned that the earlier a person begins drinking, the stronger the association between life stress and drinking in young adults.