Underage Drinking: A Developmental Framework

Abstract

A developmental framework for understanding and addressing the problem of underage alcohol consumption is presented. The first section presents the rationale for a developmental approach, including striking age-related data on patterns of onset, prevalence, and course of alcohol use and disorders in young people. The second section examines the fundamental meaning of a developmental approach to conceptualizing underage drinking. The third section delineates contemporary principles of developmental psychopathology as a guide to future research and intervention efforts. Strategic, sensitive, and effective efforts to address the problem of underage drinking will require a developmentally informed approach to research, prevention, and treatment. D EVELOPMENTAL APPROACHES TO understanding and addressing the problem of underage drinking are essential, not only because this problem occurs in a developing organism but also because accumulating evidence strongly implicates the role of development in promising theories and interventions concerning this problem. It is increasingly clear that the emergence and progression of drinking behavior are influenced by development, that underage drinking has developmental consequences, that alcohol use disorders (AUDs) are developmental in nature, and that efforts to prevent or to reduce underage drinking behavior must be developmentally informed to be strategic, sensitive, and effective. Our goals in this article are to summarize the case for a developmental perspective on underage drinking and to outline a developmental framework for underage drinking, to guide future theory, research, and practice. This framework emerged from the collaborative work of an advisory group assembled by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in 2004 as part of the Underage Drinking Research Initiative.The framework is presented in 3 sections. In the first section, we highlight the rationale for a developmental approach, including examples of data that the advisory group members found compelling as a rationale for developmental perspectives. In the second section, we discuss general developmental principles that guided our thinking, with examples of their application to drinking behavior. In the third section, we articulate principles of contemporary developmental psychopathology as applied to the problem of underage drinking. RATIONALE FOR A DEVELOPMENTAL APPROACH TO UNDERAGE DRINKING FocusWhen the evidence on drinking behavior is examined through a developmental lens, the rationale for a developmental approach to understanding and preventing this problem comes into focus. In this section, we highlight conclusions based on the most salient data supporting a developmental approach.There Are Striking Age-Related Patterns of Alcohol Use, Problems, Abuse, and Dependence Alcohol use typically begins in the second decade of life, often in early adolescence. Although some young people begin drinking in elementary school, the first use of alcohol (defined as drinking a whole drink) typ...

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