Risky alcohol use, age at onset of drinking, and adverse childhood experiences in young men entering the US Marine Corps.
OBJECTIVE
To examine how childhood experiences relate to risky underage drinking.


METHODS
A survey study of men starting military training between June 11, 2002, and April 5, 2006. Multivariate logistic regression models compared risky drinkers with "all others" or with nonrisky drinkers; excluding nondrinkers.


METHODS
Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, Calif.


METHODS
Forty-one thousand four hundred eighty-two men aged 18 to 20 years. Main Exposures Age at drinking onset; childhood emotional, physical, and sexual abuse; childhood emotional and physical neglect; and household alcohol abuse, mental illness, domestic violence, or divorce.


METHODS
Risky drinking identified by scoring responses to 3 questions about alcohol consumption.


RESULTS
Of 41,482 young men, 6128 (14.8%) were identified as risky drinkers, 18,693 (45.1%) as nonrisky drinkers, and 16 661 (40.2%) as nondrinkers. Among drinkers, early initiation of alcohol use was strongly associated with risky drinking, with a 5.5-fold risk if age at onset of drinking was 13 years or younger. Other associated factors included tobacco use, rural or small hometown, higher education, motivation to join the military for travel or adventure or to leave problems at home, numerous close friends and relatives, household alcohol abuse or mental illness, and childhood sexual or emotional abuse. When the comparison group included nondrinkers, additional associated factors included childhood physical abuse and domestic violence.


CONCLUSIONS
These analyses confirm previous findings on risks for alcohol misuse in young adults and quantify these risks in new, large, multivariable models, adding unique perspective from a population of young Marines. Public health efforts to decrease alcohol misuse may be effectively targeted by prevention of underage alcohol use, tobacco use, and childhood abuse.
Young
Sylvia Y N
SY
Department of Defense Center for Deployment Health Research, Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, CA 92186-5122, USA.
Hansen
Christian J
CJ
Gibson
Roger L
RL
Ryan
Margaret A K
MA
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012309:Risk-Taking; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States