Parents' drinking patterns are the strongest predictor of adolescent alcohol use, suggesting alcohol education programs should start before high school, a new Queensland University of Technology study of Australian teenagers has found.

Professor Ross Young of QUT's Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation (IHBI) said the 2020 teenagers (12 to 19 years) were surveyed on their alcohol consumption along with their reported ability to refuse alcohol in different situations.

"The two situations in which teens are least likely to be able to refuse alcohol are social situations where everyone else is drinking and when they experience negative emotions," Professor Young said.

"People find it easier to resist drinking in some situations than others but these types of situations - social and emotional - were found to be 'triggers' in previous studies with adults and university students.

"The results of this study signal the powerful learning that takes place when children observe adults using alcohol to self-medicate to deal with life's challenges."

Professor Young said National Household Drug Surveys indicated a doubling of the number of 14-19 years olds drinking on a daily basis between 2001 and 2004.

He said the continuity of experience of problem adolescent drinkers and university student binge drinkers gave a clue that the seeds of alcohol misuse were sown early.

"The implications of this work are that we need to begin alcohol misuse programs early to teach children ways to deal with negative emotions without resorting to substances," Professor Young said.

"A skills-based program embedded in the curriculum is needed to teach children to develop coping strategies.

"In terms of dealing with peer pressure, children need to learn assertiveness, confidence and to be able to say 'no' to alcohol and not feel rejected."

The study has been published in a recent edition of the US journal, Addictive Behaviors.