Across studies, the vast majority of inconsistent reporters give an older age at first use at the second point in time than at the first (Engels et al., 1997; Johnson and Mott, 2001; Labouvie et al., 1997; Parra et al., 2003; Prause et al., 2007; Shillington and Clapp, 2000). The implication for retrospective studies is that the older respondents are when asked about drinking onset, the less likely they are to report it occurring at an early age. Prospective studies of first intoxication and first alcohol use have demonstrated that those who initially report early onset show the strongest forward telescoping effects (i.e., reporting an event closer to the present than it actually occurred) (Parra et al., 2003; Shillington and Clapp, 2000). In studies using adult samples, some (but not all) of these early initiators are therefore likely to go undetected. The important question to address then becomes how consistent reporters differ from inconsistent reporters with respect to alcohol-related outcomes. Is onset of alcohol use more salient and therefore more reliably reported by those who go on to drink heavily
