Family dynamics and environmental factors influencing progression from alcohol experimentation to initiation in youth: Evidence from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study

Introduction

Early alcohol initiation is linked to the later development of problem drinking and other negative health outcomes. While previous studies have identified predictors of alcohol use, a growing body of research is categorizing early use as experimentation (onset of sipping) or initiation (first full drink) – key stages in youth drinking patterns.

Methods

This study evaluated the influence of individual, interpersonal, and environmental factors on the time from alcohol experimentation to initiation among 11,867 preadolescent youth, using data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study (2016-2023).

Ages ranged from 8 to 11 at baseline and 12 to 14 at the end of the study period. Experimentation was defined as the first instance of alcohol sipping, while initiation was defined as consuming at least one full drink during the study period. Participants were included if they reported no alcohol use at baseline and sipped alcohol during the study. Among those who progressed to drinking, only individuals who sipped prior to consuming a full drink were retained to ensure a temporal sequence from experimentation to initiation. An extended Cox model was used to examine the effects of sociodemographic characteristics, alcohol expectancies, family and peer dynamics, and neighborhood-level factors on the likelihood of alcohol initiation following experimentation.

Results

Among 1,225 youths in the final sample who were alcohol-naive at baseline, 87 (7.1%) participants had their first sip and later first drink by month 45 of the study period. Significant factors associated with a higher likelihood of alcohol initiation included peer alcohol use (adjusted hazard ratio [HR]=4.75, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.91-7.76, p<0.001), household rules allowing alcohol consumption (adjusted HR=2.60, 95% CI: 1.43-4.72, p=0.002), older age (adjusted HR=1.48, 95% CI: 1.16-1.89, p=0.002), family conflict (adjusted HR=1.14, 95% CI: 1.04-1.26, p=0.007), and positive alcohol expectancies (adjusted HR=1.10, 95% CI: 1.00-1.20, p=0.041). No significant differences were observed based on sex, race, ethnicity, household income, parental alcohol use, alcohol availability, and neighborhood safety.

Conclusion

Household dynamics, peer use, and older age emerged as robust influencing factors of early alcohol experimentation preceding initiation. These findings suggest that interventions engaging youths’ social networks should be considered for prevention of alcohol use progression among preadolescent youth.