A study of 2,000 middle-school students concluded that adolescents who owned alcohol-branded t-shirts and other items were more likely to drink than those who didn't own such merchandise, UPI reported March 20.

Dartmouth Medical School researchers said the study was the first to examine the relationship between alcohol merchandise and drinking. "Our research found that students who owned an alcohol-branded item were significantly more likely to have initiated alcohol use than students who did not own one," said lead researcher Dr. Auden McClure. "We recommend that parents discourage their children from wearing these products and that schools limit the display of alcohol-branded items among students."

The study, which involved students ages 10 to 14, was published in the April 2006 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.