By looking at 40 different factors in a 14 year old teens,
including brain structure and function, personality, life experiences and
genetics, researchers can predict with 70% accuracy who will go on to develop
binge drinking within the next two years. Impulsivity, hopelessness,
sensation-seeking traits, lack of conscientiousness, and other variables such
as life events and a family history of drug use contribute to the likelihood of
binge drinking. Whether or not the child
had had a single drink at age 14 was a particularly powerful predictor, the
researchers found.