The use of alcohol or other drugs before the age of 15 increases the likelihood of future adult substance dependency, contracting a sexually transmitted disease, dropping out of school or committing a crime, the Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported Oct 18.

A study that followed 1,037 children from the age of three until 32 also reported that girls who use drugs or alcohol at a young age are more likely to become pregnant before the age of 21.

At the ages of 13 and 15, the study participants were asked whether they had sniffed glue, gasoline or other inhalants, or used illegal drugs or alcoholic beverages in the past year. They also were assessed for pre-teen conduct disorders and family history.

The study concluded that children who used alcohol or drugs "were two to three times more likely than non-early-exposed adolescents to be substance dependent, to have herpes infection, to have had an early pregnancy, and to have failed to obtain educational qualifications." The study also determined that children exposed to drugs and alcohol had significantly more criminal convictions than those who were not.

Alcohol was the substance most commonly abused by the young teens.

"Findings from this study are consistent with the message that early substance use leads to significant problems in adolescents' future lives," said University of California at Irvine researcher Candice Odgers, the study's lead author. "Even adolescents with no prior history of behavioral problems or family history of substance abuse problems were at risk for poor health outcomes if they used substances prior to age 15," Odgers said.

The study appeared in the October 2008 issue of the journal Psychological Science.