An important new finding reported here relates to the performance of the domain of peer drinking. The perceived quantity of alcohol intake among significant individuals in the 13-year-old’s life mediated the relationship between a low LR and ALCOUT, in a manner not found in evaluations of young adults or older teenagers or in older adults [10, 12, 14]. The PEER variable functioned as predicted within the present young population, even after considering the impact of age and sex. The performance of PEER in mediating the relationship between LR and ALCOUT in the ALSPAC sample may reflect the young age of this group, with the possibility that the PEER domain becomes less central to the way that LR relates to ALCOUT as subjects reach their mid-to-late teens or adulthood [6, 10, 14].
