Another important factor to measure is individual acute subjective response to early substance experimentation, such as level of response to alcohol, which has been found to predict risk of developing alcohol related consequences in teens (Schuckit et al., 2008) and alcohol use disorders in adulthood (Trim et al., 2009). Early experiences with tobacco are also thought to be indicators for the development of substance use disorders, thus representing an important area of youth and adolescent research (Haberstick et al., 2011; Perkins et al., 2009; Pomerleau et al., 1998). Therefore, if one wants to chart the course of drinking or drug use developmentally, starting with the earliest experiences of alcohol and drug use experimentation provides important information about substance related risk.
