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.”
