A study at Idaho and Michigan State Universities found that pre-school children who were less able to control their impulses and behaviour were more likely to begin drinking in early adolescence, while those more able to adapt their self-control to their environment were less likely to.
The study, 'Trajectories of Behavioural Control and Resiliency', is part of the Michigan Longitudinal Study, which has tracked 386 children of alcoholics and 128 matched control children aged from three to five since the mid-1980s.
'These findings are important, because we know that early drinking (at 14 or earlier) is associated with a greater likelihood for alcohol abuse or dependence in adulthood,' said lead author Dr Maria M Wong, a psychologist at Idaho State University.
'If early childhood behaviours such as behavioural control and resiliency put individuals at risk for alcohol and drug use, then programmes aimed at changing those behaviours at an early age may protect individuals from experimenting with drugs and alcohol later on.'