Alcohol use

Experimenting with alcohol use in adolescence is age-normative behavior. Around 60–80% of adolescents have experimented with alcohol use before the age of 18. However, for some adolescents this experimenting with drinking results in persistent and uncontrolled use of alcohol. Why are some adolescents more resilient or vulnerable to alcohol misuse? And can we identify possible risky drinking patterns in adolescence? This entry discusses predictors and consequences of alcohol use while focusing on both social and cognitive processes in relation to trajectories of alcohol use in adolescence and young adulthood.