title: Initiation and course of alcohol consumption among adolescents and young adults.
abstract: This chapter takes a normative developmental perspective on the etiology of alcohol use, focusing on the initiation and course of alcohol use (rather than alcohol use disorders) during adolescence and early adulthood. We review evidence regarding the sequelae and meaning of the age of initiation of alcohol use, consider variable- and pattern-centered approaches to modeling trajectories describing the course of alcohol use across adolescence and young adulthood, and offer developmental conceptualizations of risk and protective factors for alcohol use and related problems.
authors.affiliation: Pennsylvania State University, Human Development and Family Studies, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Maggs
authors.forename: John E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Schulenberg
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States