most substantially linked to violence for people in the U.S. who were between 13 and 20 years old, with highest percentages of violent behavior noted in the early teenage years.
Interestingly, the link between violence and alcohol use dispersed by the time participants turned 21 years old. “Although the prevalence of alcohol use increased with age,” Salas-Wright stated. “The prevalence of violent behavior diminished between adolescence and young adulthood.”
Both binge and non-binge drinking increased between 12-21 and violent attacks were shown to peak at age 18 among binge drinkers. While social drinking was linked to violence most prominently for participants who were 13.
“[Results] suggest alcohol and violence are interrelated in the lives of youth,” he concluded, “But their association appears to be dependent on the youth’s age and on the nature and severity of their alcohol use.”
Author: Livia Areas-Holmblad
Livia Holmblad is an editor at Addiction Now and covers breaking news, features and everything in between. She moved to SoCal after living in NYC for about 10 years, where she worked for VICE and SinoVision as a writer, editor, host, producer, and director. Born and raised in Rio de Janeiro. Contact Livia at liviah@addictionnow.com
