It was expected that alcohol use and adverse consequences in adolescence would be distinct but positively correlated constructs (Stice et al., 1998), with differential patterns of prediction to subjective well-being (cf. Mason et al., 2008). Although prior research often has tested the hypothesis of a negative association between adolescent alcohol use and subsequent indicators of well-being, such as life satisfaction (Bogart et al., 2006), findings are mixed and analyses typically have not accounted for adverse consequences. Here, positive predictive associations between alcohol use and subjective well-being in adolescence were expected after controlling for the influence of adolescent adverse consequences in a multivariate SEM analysis. Specifically, it was hypothesized that earlier teen alcohol use would predict increased, whereas earlier adverse consequences would predict decreased, teen subjective well being (Molnar et al., 2009). The hypothesis that earlier subjective well-being would predict increased alcohol use also was tested, based on research that has identified indicators of subjective well-being (Crum, Storr, Ialongo, & Anthony, 2008; Wills et al., 1999), as predictors of drinking among teens (e.g., Hawkins, Catalano, & Miller, 1992).
