CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

Aims: The present study was aimed at analyzing independent and potential interactive effects of age at drinking onset and family history of alcohol abuse on subsequent patterns of alcohol drinking, alcohol related problems and substance use. Method: Participants were college students (60.3% females, mean age= 20.27± 2.54 years) from the city of Córdoba, Argentina. Several measures were used to assess alcohol, tobacco and drug use. The Spanish version of the Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire was used to assess alcohol-related problems. Factorial analyses of variance, or its non-parametric equivalent, were performed to explore differences in substance use behaviors and alcohol related problems in subjects with early or late drinking onset and with or without family history of alcohol abuse. Chi Square tests were conducted to analyze the association between these two risk factors and categorical measures of alcohol, tobacco and drug use. Results: The most important finding was the significant role exerted by early onset of drinking on usual and hazardous alcohol drinking and on tobacco and drug use. These effects of early onset of drinking were similar in subjects with or without a positive family history of alcohol problems. Early onset of drinking was also associated with increased frequency of problems with alcohol and monthly number of alcohol intoxication episodes, although only in subjects with a positive history of alcohol problems, suggesting a synergistic effect between these two risk factors. Conclusions: The consistent association between age of drinking initiation on subsequent alcohol, tobacco and drug use behaviors underscores the necessity of delaying drinking debut.