Across the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK), experimentation with intoxicating substances steadily increases during the adolescent years (Clark, 2004; Eaton et al., 2012; Johnston, O'Malley, Bachman, & Schulenberg, 2005; NatCen, 2013). While some of these rates have maintained historical consistency (e.g., the general use of alcohol during the high school years), within the past decade, across geographic regions, adolescents are beginning to use substances at increasingly early ages. For instance, by age 18, youth show high rates of lifetime alcohol consumption (having had at least one drink during lifetime: >74% in the UK and US), high rates of current drinking (having had at least one drink during the past week: 25% for UK 15 year olds; and past month: 48% for US 18 year olds), and a proportion of youth report starting drinking by the completion of their elementary education (by age 11: 12% in the UK; by age 13: 15% in the US) (Eaton et al., 2012; NatCen, 2013).
