PROBLEM DRINKING AND LIFE STRESS AMONG OLDER ADULTS

研究计划的总体目的是提高我们的 理解生活背景和应对因素在 问题饮酒的开始、维持和缓解， 中年晚期和老年人。 为了解决这些问题，该项目 已经开发了一个清单，以可靠地评估生活压力和社会 资源，应对措施，以及老年男性的饮酒问题， 妇女 这些清单被用来，连同压力和应对 框架，以审查短期（一年）的问题过程 四组男性和女性的饮酒情况：晚发性问题饮酒者， 慢性（早发）问题饮酒者，缓解的问题饮酒者，以及 没有问题的饮酒者。 到目前为止，这项工作的重点是比较晚年 问题和非问题饮酒者，对比男性和女性问题 饮酒者，描述晚发性问题饮酒者，比较缓解和 非缓解的问题饮酒者，并检查生活之间的联系， 背景和应对因素以及个人功能，特别是指数 饮酒行为和饮酒问题。 拟议的工作分为四个阶段。 第一阶段是一个 检查短期变化的相关因素和预测因素， 问题饮酒;它还侧重于抑郁症和其他 晚年饮酒问题的危险因素。 第二阶段涉及一个 五年随访追踪晚年问题的中期进程 研究生活环境和应对因素如何预测 饮酒行为的变化。 它还侧重于适应 晚年问题饮酒者的配偶和饮酒的测量 中年晚期和老年人的问题。 第三阶段审查 问题饮酒者的压力和应对过程， 无酗酒问题的老年人 最后，第四阶段涉及使用 进一步验证生命的尺度 压力源、社会资源和应对反应。

The overall purpose of the research program is to enhance our understanding of the role of life context and coping factors in the initiation, maintenance, and remission of problem drinking among late-middle-aged and older adults. To address these issues, the project has developed inventories to reliably assess life stressors and social resources, coping responses, and problem drinking among older men and women. These inventories were used, together with a stress and coping framework, to examine the short-term (one-year) course of problem drinking among four groups of men and women: late-onset problem drinkers, chronic (early-onset) problem drinkers, remitted problem drinkers, and nonproblem drinkers. The work to date has focused on comparing late-life problem and nonproblem drinkers, contrasting men and women problem drinkers, describing late-onset problem drinkers, comparing remitted and nonremitted problem drinkers, and examining the associations between life context and coping factors and individual functioning, especially indices of drinking behavior and drinking problems. The proposed work is divided into four phases. Phase One is an examination of the correlates and predictors of short-term changes in problem drinking; it also focuses on the role of depression and other risk factors in late-life problem drinking. Phase Two involves a five-year follow-up to trace the medium-term course of late-life problem drinking and to examine how life context and coping factors predict changes in drinking behavior. It also focuses on adaptation among spouses of late-life problem drinkers and on the measurement of drinking problems among late-middle-aged and older adults. Phase Three examines the process of stress and coping among problem-drinking and nonproblem-drinking older adults. Finally, Phase Four involves the use of the three waves of data to further validate the measures of life stressors, social resources, and coping responses.