The Impact of Peer Substance Use and Polygenic Risk on Trajectories of Heavy Episodic Drinking Across Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood

Background Heavy episodic drinking is developmentally normative among adolescents and young adults, but is linked to adverse consequences in later life, such as drug and alcohol dependence. Genetic and peer influences are robust predictors of heavy episodic drinking in youth, but little is known about the interplay between polygenic risk and peer influences as they impact developmental patterns of heavy episodic drinking. Methods Data were from...