Adolescent alcohol use remains a major public health concern that brings substantial economic costs and burden to society (Duncan et al. 1997; Newcomb and Bentler 1988; Rehm et al. 2009). To maximize the impact of interventions, efforts are being made to better match subgroups of the population with optimally effective intervention programs. This study examined the development trajectories of alcohol abuse through adolescence, and whether the impact of Fast Track intervention on the developmental trajectories was moderated by NR3C1 gene polymorphisms. Consistent with prior studies (Johnston et al. 2010; SAMHSA 2002, 2013), the proportion of youths who had alcohol abuse in the past year increased steadily through adolescence. Adolescents differed from each other in their initial liability and linear slope. This finding demonstrates the benefit of taking a developmental perspective on alcohol use in adolescence (Duncan et al. 2006; Schulenberg and Maggs 2002). Additionally, AAs consistently reported lower levels and slower linear slope than EAs, similar to prior studies (Duncan et al. 2006; French et al. 2002; SAMHSA 2002). Despite their lower levels of use, AAs who use alcohol experience
