The First Drink

Research and statistics both show that although a family history of alcohol abuse can play a role in when American teenagers first start drinking alcohol, the approval of close friends and easy access to alcohol are more important factors and the largest single predictor as to whether teenagers will begin drinking at an early age is if their best friends are already drinking and have easy access to alcohol. The numbers show teens that get their first taste of alcohol from their friends are much more likely to start drinking earlier in life than teens who get their first drink from other sources. This trend is so important that a recent national teen drinking study conducted by researchers from the University of Iowa found that even those teens that grow up in alcoholic-parented families will almost always get their first drink from their peers, and not from their homes.

The University of Iowa researchers issued a news release about their findings saying that "When you start drinking, even with kids who come from alcoholic families, they don't get their first drinks from their family, they have to be able to get it. If they have friends who have alcohol, then it's easier for them to have that first drink." The Iowa study revealed that out of a group of over 800 teens across the United States aged 14 to 17, nearly 80% of them were from families at high-risk for eventually developing alcohol abuse problems. When the study examined the many different factors contributing to early drinking including disruptive behavior, a family history of drinking alcohol, or poor overall social skills, the number one issue was still if their best friends were already drinking.

In the study, 40% of the teens who reported that they had begun consuming alcohol had best friends who were currently drinking. The effect of peer behavior proved to be such a crucial factor leading to alcohol abuse that those teenagers whose best friends used alcohol were twice as likely to have an underage first drink. When the other significant social factors were taken out of the picture, the study also showed that the teens whose best friends were already drinking were three times as likely to begin drinking at an early age as teens with tea-totaling friends. Another unfortunate reality in the early teenage drinking equation is the fact that adolescents who have their first drink before age 15 are far more likely to abuse alcohol or become alcohol dependent later in their lives. The University of Iowa study concluded that family history is not the main factor in the age at which teens start drinking alcohol, and that access to alcohol, especially among their peers, was by far the most important determinant.