There is also some evidence from experimental animal studies that early alcohol exposure could have a direct effect on later tendencies to use alcohol in response to stress. Male and female rodents administered alcohol during adolescence had greater stress-reactive drinking than those whose first access to alcohol was in adulthood (Füllgrabe et al., 2007; Siegmund et al., 2005). Dawson and colleagues (2007) replicated this interaction between early drinking onset and stress on alcohol consumption among humans using data from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Condition (NESARC). Individuals who reported they began drinking by age 14 and experienced past-year life stressors had higher alcohol consumption compared with early drinkers without past-year life stressors and individuals who began drinking later.
