The age of onset to begin regular drinking is an important predictor of age of first alcohol problem and subsequent alcohol dependence (Hawkins et al. 1997; Grant and Dawson 1997), as well as greater severity and persistence of problems with illicit drugs (Kandel et al. 1992). For individuals that initiated drinking prior to age 14 years, the likelihood of adult alcohol dependence was 40%, four times more likely than individuals who began drinking at 20 years or older (Grant and Dawson 1997). Sartor et al. (2007) also reported that individuals that drank before age 14 years were more than twice as likely to become alcohol dependent than those trying alcohol after age 16 years.
