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Late onset alcoholism: stress or structure

S L Adams¹, S A Waskel

¹Catholic Social Services, Division of Substance Abuse, University of Nebraska, Omaha.

The Journal of Psychology

|May 1, 1993

Summary

Later onset alcoholism in men may be linked to the loss of a spouse, not necessarily increased stress from social structure loss. Early onset alcoholics were more often married than later onset individuals.

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Area of Science:

Gerontology
Psychiatry
Sociology

Background:

Alcoholism onset can be influenced by social and psychological factors.
Understanding the differences between early and later onset alcoholism is crucial for targeted interventions.
Loss of social-psychological structures may differentially impact older men with alcohol use disorder.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if stress from the loss of social-psychological structures is greater for later onset alcoholics compared to early onset.
To explore the relationship between specific social-psychological structures and the timing of alcoholism onset in men.

Main Methods:

A cohort of 60 men (mean age 63.6 years) from six midwest treatment centers participated.
Subjects completed the modified Veteran's Alcoholism Screening Test (V.A.S.T.) and the Drinking Practices Survey.
Participants were categorized as early onset (before age 40) or later onset (after age 40) alcoholics, with analysis using chi-square statistics.

Main Results:

Marital status was the only social-psychological structure significantly related to alcoholism onset.
Early onset alcoholics were found to be more frequently married than later onset alcoholics.
The findings suggest marital status plays a role in regulating drinking behavior in older men.

Conclusions:

The onset of problem drinking in older men may be less associated with general stress from social loss and more with the loss of a spouse.
Marital status appears to be a significant protective factor or regulatory mechanism against later onset alcoholism.
Further research should explore the specific role of spousal relationships in the etiology of alcoholism in aging populations.

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