Does age bring a greater or smaller desire to drink for pleasure rather than coping?
Until mid-to-late adolescence, boys and girls show relatively little difference in drinking motives. Distinctions between the reasons for alcohol consumption of males and females begin to emerge around ages 14–15; overall, boys tend to view drinking in a more social light than girls, who report on average a more frequent use of alcohol as a coping mechanism. The latter effect appears to shift in late adolescence and onset of early adulthood (18–19 years of age); however, despite this trend, age tends to bring a greater desire to drink for pleasure rather than coping in both boys and girls.