Alcohol and Substance Abuse Among

Alcohol and Substance Abuse Among Older Adults

Are older adults who abused alcohol previously when younger more, less, or equally likely to abuse alcohol than individuals who did not?

Are older adults who have lost a spouse more or less likely to abuse alcohol than older adults who have a living life partner, or who have never married?

Hypothesis question 1: Older adults who abused alcohol when they were younger are more likely to abuse alcohol after age 65.

Hypothesis question 2: Adults over the age of 65 who have lost a spouse or life partner are more likely to abuse alcohol than adults who have never lost a spouse or never married.

Null hypothesis 1: Older adults who abused alcohol when they were younger are neither more nor less likely to abuse alcohol after age 65.

Null hypothesis 2: Adults over the age of 65 who have lost a spouse or life partner are neither more nor less likely to abuse alcohol than adults who have never lost a spouse or never married.

Independent variables experiment 1: History of alcohol abuse earlier in life.

Dependent variables experiment 1: Alcoholism, as defined according to the current DSM-IV, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

Independent variables experiment 2: Marital status (Widowed or widower, currently married, single).

Dependent variables experiment 2: Alcoholism, as defined according to current medical DSM of psychology.

Operational definition for the independent variables 1: Subjects will be asked to answer a questionnaire listing behaviors regarding alcohol consumption in their past, before they were age 65. Alcoholism will be defined, according to the DSM as a "maladaptive pattern of substance use leading to clinically significant impairment or distress, as manifested by one (or more) of the following, occurring within a 12-month period:…a failure to fulfill major role obligations; & #8230;recurrent substance use in situations in which it is physically hazardous; & #8230;recurrent substance-related legal problems;" and "continued substance use despite having persistent or recurrent social or interpersonal problems caused or exacerbated by the effects of the substance" (Alcohol abuse diagnosis, 2011, Mental Health Channel).

Operational definition of dependent variables 2: Subjects will be asked to answer a questionnaire on current behaviors, to see if they cohere with the above DSM definition of alcoholism.