Use of commercial and social sources of alcohol by underage drinkers: The role of pubertal timing

We have explored whether alcohol use and procurement of alcohol from commercial and social sources vary with pubertal timing. A sub-sample of 9291 Norwegian minors (13–17 year-olds) was extracted from a nationwide school survey (response rate: 92%). Adolescents who had matured early (early developers, EDs) reported higher consumption and more alcohol-related harm than those who had matured late (late developers, LDs) or at the “normal” time (on time developers, ODs). Purchases from on-premise and off-premise outlets were much more important sources of alcohol for EDs than for ODs and LDs — both in relative and absolute terms. Moreover, EDs were somewhat more likely to obtain alcohol from social sources. Taken together, the findings indicate that adolescents who mature early have access to a larger variety of sources of alcohol than adolescents who mature later — which in turn may explain their increased level of drinking.