Does loneliness before the age of twelve indirectly affect impaired control over drinking, alcohol use, and problems through perceived stress?

•Being a lonely kid (prior to age 12) was linked to more perceived stress today.•Being a lonely kid was directly linked to more alcohol-related problems.•Perceived stress was directly linked to increase impaired control over alcohol.•Stress mediates the indirect link between being lonely and impaired control.•Stress affects women more than men as a mediator of loneliness on drinking outcomes.