Since adolescent binge drinking occurs in an extraordinary period when adolescents experience dramatic changes in their bodies, affects, and social environment, a successful examination of adolescent binge drinking must take into account not only excessive drinking itself but its developmental contexts. The first Call to Action against youth alcohol problems made by the Surgeon General stressed that if underage drinking is to be reduced and prevented, it must be understood in its developmental contexts including individual, family, and environmental influences (US DHHS, 2007). Understanding the effects of adverse childhood experiences such as child abuse and neglect on adolescent binge drinking is one example.
