Alcohol and Drug Use among Elderly Americans Today

Why Do the Elderly Turn to Alcohol and Drugs?

Alcohol and substance use. (2022). U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/stress-coping/alcohol-use.html.

This site maintains up-to-date statistics concerning the prevalence of alcohol and drug use among the elderly that will provide valuable background information about the severity of the problem at present for the proposed study.

Best, D., Beckwith, M., Haslam, C., Alexander Haslam, S., Jetten, J., Mawson, E., & Lubman, D. I. (2016). Overcoming alcohol and other drug addiction as a process of social identity transition: the social identity model of recovery (SIMOR). Addiction Research & Theory, 24(2), 111–123.

In response to the growing body of evidence that indicates older people may begin or restart using drugs and/or alcohol in recent years, the authors report that there has been a corresponding interest in applying the recovery model to help the elderly better understand their current life situation and take positive steps to address their substance abuse. Using the metaphorical term, “journey,” the authors describe the manner in which elderly individuals who are abusing alcohol and/or drugs tend to internalize the stigma that relates to substance abuse in American society to underscore the need for therapeutic interventions that focus on helping these people overcome these stereotypes and begin a personal journey towards recovery. This study will be useful in providing potential solutions to this complex social problem.

Cabin, W. (2020). Painful Places: Medicare Fails Homebound Patients with Substance Abuse Disorders. Journal of Health & Human Services Administration, 43(4), 406–419.

Using a critical, systematic review of the literature concerning substance abuse among the elderly in the U.S as well as interviews with 48 home care social workers, the authors conclude that elderly individuals on Medicaid are frequent substance abusers but there remains a dearth of timely and relevant studies to identify opportunities to address this nationwide problem. This lack has further exacerbated the adverse effects of substance-abusing behaviors in the elderly, an outcome that directly affects hospitalization and readmission rates. These findings provide valuable background information for the proposed study.

Chiappini, S., Schifano, F., Martinotti, G., Strasser, J. C., Bonnet, U., & Scherbaum, N. (2021). Opioid painkiller dependence in a sample of elderly medical inpatients. Psychogeriatrics, 21(3), 265–271.

Citing the prescription opioid addiction epidemic among the elderly, the authors analyzed the prevalence of this disorder among a population of elderly medical inpatients using a cross-sectional study. The results showed that nearly 11% suffered from a dependence on opioids, and more than half (51.2%) were experiencing the beginnings of opioid dependence. These findings will be used to describe how opioids prescribed for the elderly can lead to addiction and abuse.

Diniz, A., Pillon, S. C., Monteiro, S., Pereira, A., Gonçalves, J., & dos Santos, M. A. (2017). Elderly substance abuse: an integrative review. Psicologia: Teoria e Prática, 19(2), 42–59.

The authors provide a systematic review of the relevant literature in the Web of Knowledge, Scopus, PubMed, Academic Search Premier and ScienceDirect databases to analyze the corresponding clinical and sociodemographic characteristics of psychoactive substance use among the elderly. The results of this study showed that elderly men were more likely than women to engage in substance-abusing behaviors using psychoactive drugs, and that living alone and single while unemployed were also contributing factors. In addition, lower educational and income levels were also cited as antecedents of psychoactive drug use among the elderly, findings which are specifically relevant to the purpose and goal of the proposed study.

Gaxatte, C., Faraj, E., Lathuillerie, O., Salleron, J., Deramecourt, V., Pardessus, V., Destailleur, M.-H., Boulanger, E., & Puisieux, F. (2017). Alcohol and psychotropic drugs: risk factors for orthostatic hypotension in elderly fallers. Journal of Human Hypertension, 31(4), 299–304.

The authors assessed drug and alcohol use as risk factors for the elderly, with a specific focus on elevated risks of falls. A number of age-related comorbidities were also identified, and the results showed that elderly over age 80 years were at highest risk with associated drug and alcohol usage. These findings will be used to underscore the significance of the proposed study.

Ostermann, J., & Sloan, F. A. (2015). Effects of Alcohol Consumption on Disability among the Near Elderly: A Longitudinal Analysis. Milbank Quarterly, 79(4), 487.

Analyzing date drawn from four waves of the Health and Retirement Study, the authors examined the impact of alcohol use by a population that included near-elderly individuals. The results of this analysis indicated that individuals with a history of heavy or problem drinking were less likely to receive help from public sector resources compared to moderate drinkers. This finding will contribute to the proposed study’s discussion concerning risk factors for elderly substance abusing behaviors.

Rehm, J., Taylor, B., & Room, R. (2015). Global burden of disease from alcohol, illicit drugs and tobacco. Drug & Alcohol Review, 25(6), 503–513.

This study examined the global burden of alcohol, tobacco and drug use and identified some significant differences in prevalence rates between developed and developing nations, with emerging nations tending to experience far higher rates of alcohol use among the elderly. In addition, an especially interesting finding that emerged from this study was that the adverse effects of legal drug and alcohol use outweighed illicit usage in all venues, particularly among the elderly. Although the authors fail to provide any meaningful recommendations, they do emphasize the need for more effective treatment interventions for these populations and this guidance will be incorporated into the proposed study’s findings.

Savaskan, E. et al. (2021). Recommendations for the Prevention, Diagnostics and Therapy of Addiction Disorders in the Elderly. Praxis, 110(2), 79–93.

The authors stress that the use of alcohol and drugs, especially opioids, has become widespread among the elderly with corresponding increases in severe physical and mental effects. In response, the authors provide a summary of the current body of knowledge concerning alcohol and drug use among the elderly which will add to the value of the background information provided in the proposed study.

von Greiff, N., & Skogens, L. (2019). Understanding the concept of the therapeutic alliance in group treatment for alcohol and drug problems. European Journal of Social Work, 22(1), 69–81.

Using a series of interviews with 81 elderly substance abusers and 18 members of clinical treatment staff, the authors investigated the extent to which the forging of a therapeutic alliance contributed to successful treatment outcomes. There were some significant differences in the responses from these two groups, with the elderly substance abusers typically relating their own personal experiences and empirical observations while staff members tended to focus on external factors that may have exacerbated elderly abusers’ tendency to engage in drug and/or alcohol use. These differences in perspectives can have a profound effect on the treatment process as well as clinical outcomes, making this study especially useful for the purposes of the proposed study.