The overall aim of the current study is to explore the possibility that the estimated magnitude of association between early age at first drink and alcohol misuse may be inflated in studies using retrospectively reported age at alcohol use onset. Toward this end, we made use of data from a longitudinal study of female adolescents followed into young adulthood and began with a simple comparison of the strength of the association between age at first drink and peak levels of heavy episodic drinking (HED) using first vs. second reports of age at first use (spaced approximately 4 years apart). We began by testing the stability of a dichotomous early use status from Time 1 to Time 2 to with the goal of evaluating the reliability of a commonly used crude indicator of early onset alcohol use. Consistency in reported age at first alcohol use across the two time points was then categorized as older age at Time 2, younger age at Time 2, and consistent reporting and group differences in frequency of HED were tested. In addition, we tested for possible associations between consistency in reports and ethnicity, childhood maltreatment, psychiatric disorders, and other substance use.
