There was no evidence of developmental specificity in terms of timing of parental divorce, as experiencing divorce/separation at all ages was significantly associated with elevated risk of drinking initiation; these associations held when controlling for demographic variables (sex, age, and SES), although not in models further accounting for perceived stress, familial alcohol involvement, and psychopathology. Thus, study findings did not support pronounced risk at a time when children are more reliant on family ties and parental support nor a “window of vulnerability” during early childhood: regardless of when experienced, parental divorce/separation seems to be a critical life event associated with increased risk of early alcohol use. However, it may still be that the experience of early divorce/separation is linked to early alcohol use through a different pathway of risk than divorce/separation during later childhood. Future work exploring the mechanisms underlying the association between divorce/separation and adolescent drinking should consider differences across development.
