Likelihood of developing an alcohol and cannabis use disorder during youth: Association with recent use and age
Drug and Alcohol Dependence Volume 92, Issues 1-3, 1 January 2008, Pages 239-247


We extend the literature on the association of early onset of drug use and estimated risk for developing a substance use disorder (SUD) by investigating the risk that recent onset of alcohol and cannabis use confers for developing a substance use disorder at each chronological age of adolescence and young adulthood (12–21-years-old).

The results indicated that the teenage years were strongly linked to an elevated risk status.

The odds ratio (OR) of having a prior year alcohol use disorder (AUD) among recent onset alcohol users was significantly elevated for youth at ages 14, 16, 17 and 18 (range of ORs = 2.0–2.1) compared to the estimated risk for AUD among recent onset users aged 22–26.

For cannabis, we obtained significantly elevated ORs for a cannabis use disorder (CUD) at each of teenage years (ages 12–18; range of ORs = 3.9–7.2), when compared to older recent onset users (aged 22–26).

These data provide further epidemiological support that adolescence is a particularly vulnerable period for developing a SUD.

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