Alcohol Use Among the Aged in Age-Segregated and Age-Integrated Housing is a proposed two year study that will systematically investigate self- reported alcohol use among 3000 individuals aged 65 and older residing in a four-county San Francisco Bay Area. This study will bring together a multidisciplinary team consisting of gerontology and alcohol researchers. Gerontologists are only now beginning to explore the impact of the environment on alcohol consumption among the elderly. We have recently observed increasing amounts of alcohol consumption and related negative outcomes among residents of age-segregated retirement communities. We will conduct a telephone survey of l500 randomly-selected aged individuals residing in upper, middle, and lower income age-segregated retirement communities; and a randomly-selected, age-stratified sample of 1500 individuals residing independently in age-integrated communities. The age- segregated sample will be drawn via RDD and reverse telephone directories; the age-integrated will be drawn via RDD and an age-targeted listing. We derive hypotheses to be tested from an integration of two models; an ecological model of aging, and an systems framework linking alcohol consumption with personal and environmental systems. Dependent variables include: alcohol consumption (including measures of amount of consumption, frequency of consumption, and drinking patterns); and alcohol dependence, and alcohol related problems and adverse consequences as measured by the Drinking, Problem Index (DPI). Our independent variables consist of a constellation of personal resources, socioenvironmental resources, and acute and chronic life stressors. We anticipate that our results will contribute to knowledge and practice in the design of illness prevention and educational programs for the elderly.
