The characteristics of the sample included in our analyses may limit the generalization of the directional relationship between alcohol use and antisocial behavior suggested in this study. Although the ALSPAC sample was designed to be representative of epidemiological characteristics of the area of South West England (Bristol area), residents in this area were more likely to be White and to have higher socioeconomic status compared to the overall British population. Furthermore, ALSPAC participants were more likely to have higher socioeconomic status compared to the population of the recruitment area (Fraser et al., 2012). In addition, the socioeconomic characteristics of the sample included in this study were still not completely equivalent with that of the overall ALSPAC sample (Table 2). Adolescents included in this study tended to be White, female, and to have parents who had higher educational achievement and higher status professional occupations compared to the overall ALSPAC sample. This may limit generalizability of results from our study to other populations given the evidence that socioeconomic status is related to both alcohol use and antisocial behaviors in the ALSPAC sample
