Even after controlling for earlier adverse consequences as a distinct dimension of alcohol (and other substance) involvement (Sadava, 1985), alcohol use at age 18 was positively related to alcohol problems at age 21. Paradoxically, teen alcohol use has been shown to have both risks and benefits (Goldberg et al., 2002; Maggs et al., 2008). Still, research has documented a range of negative outcomes (Newcomb & Bentler, 1988a), including the development of problem drinking and alcohol use disorders (Hingson et al., 2006; Guo et al., 2000; Mason et al., 2010), that are associated with underage drinking. Our results suggest that it is not just the experience of adverse consequences in middle adolescence that portends problem drinking in early adulthood, but also the level and extent of alcohol use in late adolescence (Mason et al., 2010). It is possible that the neurological effects of alcohol disrupt brain maturation during a critical period of development among teens (Brown et al., 2000), and that these effects have lasting, if not permanent, consequences for functioning during the young adult years and beyond.
