This project examines the role of life stress and coping resources in excessive drinking among older adults. Why do some older persons develop or resume problem drinking when faced with stressful life circumstances, while others stop drinking or continue to function adequately? How can social resources or coping responses help an older individual overcome or adapt to stressful life situations? What are the social and situational factors that promote or inhibit problem drinking among older adults? We address these issues here by focusing on high-risk older adults (primarily men) drawn from medical and ambulatory care clinics and group living situations, such as urban residential care facilities and single room occupancy (SRO) hotels. Phase I entails the construction and adaptation of semi-structured interview and questionnaire procedures to assess problem drinking, life stress, and social and coping resources among older adults. In Phase II, we use these procedures in a short term prospective study to screen high-risk individuals and to select and follow three groups of demographically matched older persons. One group will be composed of individuals who have begun or resumed problem drinking after experiencing recent stressful life circumstances. The second group will consist of individuals who are in """"""""remission,"""""""" that is, persons who have had past episodes of problem drinking but who have not """"""""relapsed"""""""" even though they have encountered recent stressors. The third group will contain individuals who have never experienced drinking problems and who are coping successfully with recent stressors. The data will be used to characterize drinking habits and to examine the influence of life stressors and coping resources on problem drinking and related indices of functioning among high-risk older adults.
| Bi, Xiaoyu; Moos, Rudolf H; Timko, Christine et al. (2015) Family conflict and somatic symptoms over 10 years: a growth mixture model analysis. J Psychosom Res 78:459-65 |
| Brennan, Penny L; Schutte, Kathleen K; Moos, Bernice S et al. (2011) Twenty-year alcohol-consumption and drinking-problem trajectories of older men and women. J Stud Alcohol Drugs 72:308-21 |
| Moos, Rudolf H; Schutte, Kathleen K; Brennan, Penny L et al. (2011) Personal, family and social functioning among older couples concordant and discordant for high-risk alcohol consumption. Addiction 106:324-34 |
| Moos, Rudolf H; Brennan, Penny L; Schutte, Kathleen K et al. (2010) Social and financial resources and high-risk alcohol consumption among older adults. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 34:646-54 |
| Brennan, Penny L; Schutte, Kathleen K; Moos, Rudolf H (2010) Retired status and older adults' 10-year drinking trajectories. J Stud Alcohol Drugs 71:165-8 |
| Brennan, Penny L; Schutte, Kathleen K; Moos, Rudolf H (2010) Patterns and predictors of late-life drinking trajectories: a 10-year longitudinal study. Psychol Addict Behav 24:254-64 |
| Moos, Rudolf H; Brennan, Penny L; Schutte, Kathleen K et al. (2010) Spouses of older adults with late-life drinking problems: health, family, and social functioning. J Stud Alcohol Drugs 71:506-14 |
| Moos, Rudolf H; Brennan, Penny L; Schutte, Kathleen K et al. (2010) Older adults' health and late-life drinking patterns: a 20-year perspective. Aging Ment Health 14:33-43 |
| Moos, Rudolf H; Schutte, Kathleen K; Brennan, Penny L et al. (2010) Late-life and life history predictors of older adults' high-risk alcohol consumption and drinking problems. Drug Alcohol Depend 108:13-20 |
| Schutte, Kathleen K; Brennan, Penny L; Moos, Rudolf H (2009) Treated and untreated remission from problem drinking in late life: post-remission functioning and health-related quality of life. Drug Alcohol Depend 99:150-9 |
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