temperamental characteristics that can be stably indexed even earlier in life relate to adolescent alcohol problems. Second, the temperament styles associated with subsequent adolescent alcohol-related outcomes are very different and largely uncorrelated. Children who are rated as consistently sociable through age 5 and children who are rated as having consistent emotional and conduct difficulties through age 5 both show elevated rates of alcohol problems at age 15.5. Interestingly, the association was mediated through different pathways. Sociability was associated with increased problems through increased extraversion and sensation-seeking in both boys and girls, whereas emotional and conduct difficulties were associated with increased problems through reduced conscientiousness and lower emotional stability in both sexes. Accordingly, our findings support multiple pathways, through different temperamental and personality styles, to problematic alcohol use.
