Age-Related Services & Outcomes After DUI Interventions

描述（由申请人提供）：法院授权的酒驾项目可能被证明是进入治疗系统的关键切入点，这些人通常在任何其他环境中都没有被识别出来。在美国，越来越多的人即将退休或即将退休，而更多的“婴儿潮一代”将在未来几十年步入晚年；这些人群的饮酒量可能比之前报道的要高，可能会经历更大的酒精相关后果，包括酒后驾车被捕。鉴于缺乏对年龄、酒精使用结果和经历酒精使用法律后果（例如，法院强制的酒驾计划）的成年人的服务使用之间关系的了解，以及美国中老年人数量的增加，提出的前瞻性观察性研究将招募和访谈（基线）连续队列（n=200）老年人（55岁及以上）和性别和种族/种族匹配的中年人（40-54岁，n=200）和更年轻的成年人（18-39岁，n=200）参加模型DUI计划。

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.