In the US National Co-morbidity Study-AdolescentSupplement
(NCA-S), over ¾ of adolescents (78.2%) had consumed
alcohol by late adolescence, and 15.1% met criteria for
DSM-IV lifetime alcohol abuse (Swendsen et al., 2012). The
median age at onset was 14 years for alcohol abuse with or
without dependence. This was a nationally representative
survey in which over 10,000 young people between the ages
of 13 and 18 were interviewed using a modified version of the
Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Rates of alcohol
use were lowest for black and other racial/ethnic groups compared
with white or Hispanic adolescents. The increase in
prevalence rates over the years from 13 to 18 indicates that this
is a key period in the development of alcohol use disorders
(AUDs). By the time they were 17–18 years of age male adolescents
had higher rates of alcohol use than in early adolescence
(use, regular use, abuse without dependence and abuse
with dependence).