Age-Related Services & Outcomes After DUI Interventions

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Court-mandated DUI programs may prove to be key entry points into the treatment system for individuals who often are not identified in any other setting. There is a growing proportion of individuals in the U.S. who are near or in retirement, and a larger cohort of 'Baby Boomers' who will reach late life in the coming , decades; these cohorts may drink at higher levels than previously reported and may experience greater alcohol-related consequences including DUI arrests. Given this lack of knowledge regarding the relationship between age, alcohol use outcomes, and service use among adults experiencing legal consequences of their alcohol use (e.g., court-mandated DUI programs), and the increasing numbers of middle-aged and older adults in the U.S., the proposed prospective observational study will recruit and interview (at baseline) a consecutive cohort (n=200) of aging adults (age 55 and older) and gender and ethnicity/race matched cohorts of adults at mid-life (age 40-54; n=200) and younger ages (age 18-39; n=200) participating in a model DUI program. The Wright State University Weekend Intervention Program (WIP) is a 3-day psychosocial program that is an alternative to incarceration. The specific aims of the proposed study are to: 1) determine the age-related variations in predisposing, enabling, and need characteristics (e.g. demographics, current and past alcohol use and consequences, health services use, history of treatment, and barriers to seeking treatment, history of previous DUIs, and criminal justice determination following (the Index DUI intervention) of the three age groups of court-mandated clients participating in a nationally-recognized DUI driver intervention program; 2) examine age-related variations in referral, linkage and engagement in formal and informal substance abuse treatment in the 18-months following participation in a DUI intervention program, and to identify the key characteristics associated with types of service use; and 3) measure the differences by age group in the longitudinal course of drinking, changes in alcohol-related behaviors, and physical/psychosocial status. In order to understand both proximal and more distal outcomes, follow-up assessments will be conducted at 6-, 12-, and 18-months. This study will provide critical new knowledge regarding the age-related similarities and differences of adults in younger- to mid- to later-life at one of the important junctures in the intervention and treatment engagement process.