Drug and Alcohol Abuse among the Elderly: Is Being Alone the Key?

Abstract

Despite the rising incidence of drug and alcohol abuse among the elderly, information concerning the social and psychological factors fostering such abuse is scanty and potentially biased toward the limited number of older abusers who obtain professional help. Using a brief interview with carefully selected samples, the present study compares characteristics of social background and social support among 21 older clients (age 55 and over) of drug treatment facilities, 30 older abusers not in treatment, and 155 elderly nonabusers. Analyses suggest that age and gender affect the likelihood of receiving treatment for substance abuse more than the likelihood of being an abuser. Controlling for age and gender effects, substance abuse appeared more prevalent among single and divorced elderly and among respondents who lived alone; presence or absence of living companions was more influential than relationships with nearby social supports. Implications for health and social service programs as well as for further research are discussed.

Stress Coping Mechanisms in Elderly Adults: An Initial Study of Recreational and Other Coping Behaviors in Nursing Home Patients

“…He described two types of stressors: life events observed through the quality of nonnormative change and chronic stressors rooted in institutionalized roles. Both types of stress are of critical concern for elderly adults; however, chronic stressors, and their relationship to institutionalized roles, are especially important considerations because many elderly adults experience more stressors, perceive higher levels of stress, and have fewer effective coping responses available to them than do adults at other times of life (Brown & Chiang, 1983;Chiriboga, 1984;Seeman, Seeman, & Budros, 1988;Stones & Kozma, 1984).…”

“…Although there is some empirical evidence to suggest that certain stress components are related to age, any bivariate view is bound to be overly simplistic. However, it is reasonably well established that exposure to stressors increases, both in number and severity, as one ages (Brown & Chiang, 1983;Chiriboga, 1984;Seeman et al, 1988;Stones & Kozma, 1984). Also, the type of stressor encountered changes with age (e.g., the major stressors in the course of one's life may be related to dating, vacation, and eventually bereavement).…”

Psychotropic Drug Use and the Relation Between Social Support, Life Events, and Mental Health in the Elderly

“…Present findings also point to a greater sensitivity among users than nonusers to perceived available support. Social ties and support are related to poor mental health among the elderly (Allard et al, 1995), and feeling alone is associated with substance abuse (Brown & Chi-Pong, 1983;Gustafsson et al, 1996).…”

Community Severance and Health: What Do We Actually Know?

“…36 Impact of traffic on social networks Many cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have found evidence of a relationship between social network quality and indicators of poor health, [17][18][19][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46] mortality, 14,[20][21][22][23][47][48][49][50][51][52][53] and negative health behaviors more generally. 15,16,[54][55][56] These studies have assessed social network quality in a number of different ways, which would find support in theories of community severance, including the following: numbers of close relationships with friends, acquaintances, relatives, and/or neighbours;…”

“…Those that actually provide further information 3,5,13 summarize the evidence from Appleyard and Lintell's seminal study 2 and relate this to the indirect health consequences of disrupted social networks and social support, usually citing Berkman and Syme's pioneering work on the health effects of decreased social contacts: the extent and quality of individuals' social networks in their Alameda County study affected future mortality and morbidity, even among those who were healthy at baseline. 14 Subsequent work has shown that the extent of social networks is related to unhealthy behaviors, 15,16 poor health, [17][18][19] and mortality. 14,[20][21][22][23] Based on an updated literature review, this paper discusses the published evidence relating to community severance, the extent of evidence on its effects on health, and how severance might be quantified.…”