In targeting the age range that covers the period of highest risk for initiation and progression of drinking and associated problems, the Prospective Study has several advantages. Its inclusion of a wide range of birth cohorts, as opposed to a few or even a single cohort as in other designs (e.g. Golding et al., 2001; Poulton et al., 2015), permits the study of multiple developmental periods in a short time period. It is a high-risk sample, with many youth having at least one parent with AUD, and the parents and other adult generations are well characterized for substance use and other psychiatric disorders. The subjects are diverse, with over 25% of non-European American heritage. Lastly, longitudinal assessments cover not only self-reported behaviors but also neurophysiological, neuropsychological and genetic measures (although not used in this report). These attributes distinguish the Prospective Study from others and underscore its ability to characterize AUD development over time from a multi-faceted perspective.
