The results of this study replicate prior findings of higher alcohol consumption among individuals reporting earlier drinking onset. This association was modest and mediated by shared genetic influences contributing to both early drinking onset and adult alcohol consumption. Past-year stress-related drinking was higher among early drinking men who experienced independent stressful events and early drinking women who experienced dependent stressful events. These results await further replication and should be considered in the context of known risk factors correlated with early onset, such as familial history of problematic substance use and externalizing tendencies.
