Early age at first drink has been associated with elevated risk for alcohol use disorders (AUDs) in numerous studies (Grant and Dawson, 1997; Hingson et al., 2006; Prescott and Kendler, 1999), but few investigations have explored the potential variability across ethnic groups in the strength of this association. Lower rates of alcohol use among African Americans vs. European Americans are well documented (Dauber et al., 2009; Horton, 2007; Wu et al., 2011). Differences in drinking behaviors extend to age at first alcohol use and prevalence of problem drinking as well. African Americans report an older average age at first drink (Rothman et al., 2009; Wagner et al., 2002) and fewer alcohol-related problems than European Americans (Dauber et al., 2009; Horton, 2007; Skidmore et al., 2012; Wu et al., 2011). If these distinctions reflect differential pathways to drinking problems, the association between age at first drink and problem alcohol use may also differ for African Americans vs. European Americans, but this has only rarely been investigated. Findings from a longitudinal study of adolescent males indicating a more pronounced elevation in risk
