Older adult controlled drinkers and abstainers

Little is known about the lifetime course of alcohol problems, especially during late adulthood. Many individuals with a history of alcohol problems achieve remission of their symptoms through abstinence or controlled drinking. This study examined 135 older adults with a prior history of alcohol diagnoses who were symptom free for at least the past year. Two groups were identified based on their alcohol consumption within the past year: abstinent individuals (n = 92) and controlled drinkers (n = 43). The groups did not differ in age, racial composition, education, income, or years since their last alcohol-related symptom, but they did differ in gender composition, indices of alcoholism severity, history of formal and informal treatment, as well as lifetime alcohol consumption patterns. Abstinent individuals had more severe alcohol problems, consumed higher amounts of alcohol on drinking days, had more years of heavy alcohol consumption, and were more likely to have attended alcohol treatment and Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). The controlled drinkers had a longer history of moderate social drinking, and their current consumption habits appeared to be similar to symptom-free older adult drinkers. The results suggest that gender, alcoholism severity, history of formal and informal treatment, and past consumption patterns are associated with whether older adults with histories of alcoholism attain successful outcomes through abstinence or controlled drinking.