Somewhat at odds with existing research (e.g. Biehl et al., 2007) a curvilinear relationship was identified between a continuous measure of boys’ pubertal timing and alcohol use at Time 2 after controlling for linear effects. The findings are consistent with an off-time/deviance perspective (Petersen & Taylor, 1990) in suggesting that adolescents whose development is most deviant from the usual timing of socially accepted life sequences are more at risk of adjustment problems. The results also converge with those of a series of empirical studies conducted in the 1990s (e.g. Andersson & Magnusson, 1990; Orr & Ingersoll, 1995) in which both early and late maturing boys had elevated rates of alcohol use and problem use (e.g. drunkenness) and have been interpreted in the context of social processes and efforts to achieve prestige in the peer group (Weichold et al., 2003). Overall, the results highlight the importance of continuing to undertake nationally representative, longitudinal research to chart the use of cigarettes and alcohol in relation to pubertal timing as well as, having obtained this data, testing for non-linear associations.
