These results must be considered in the context of several limitations. First, the measures of internalizing used in these analyses are derived from maternal reports. While this is appropriate for the age range of the sample, it is possible that maternal reports are less accurate than self-reports. In addition, there is some evidence that the observed relationship between internalizing symptoms and alcohol use differs depending on the reporter (McCarty et al., 2012). In addition, we did not explore whether childhood internalizing trajectories were associated with alcohol outcomes later in adolescence or early adulthood.
