Familial Predictors of Alcohol and Drug Use-Related Problems
Open Access
- Author:
- Miller, Sara
- Graduate Program:
- Human Development and Family Studies
- Degree:
- Master of Science
- Document Type:
- Master Thesis
- Date of Defense:
- February 17, 2021
- Committee Members:
- David Manuel Almeida, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Jennifer Lianne Maggs, Committee Member
Douglas Michael Teti, Program Head/Chair - Keywords:
- Alcohol
Problem Drinking
Partner
Parent
Child
Prescription Drug
Illicit Drug - Abstract:
- Substance and alcohol misuse among aging adults are recognized public health concerns. The study purpose was to evaluate whether recent family member alcohol and substance use problems (ASP) and density of family ASP (i.e., number of family members with ASP) predicted middle-aged and older adults’ alcohol and psychoactive drug use-related problems. Secondary data were drawn from the national longitudinal Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS). Poisson regression was used to assess cross-sectional past 12-month family (parent, partner, and child) ASP predictors of the alcohol and drug use-related problems among a sample (ages 42-93, n=2,168) of middle-aged (<65 years, n=1,243) and older adults (≥65 years, n=925). Covariates included participants’ gender, age, education, marriage status, race, and income, and their alcohol and drug use-related problems assessed 18 years earlier. Sensitivity analyses further controlled for household composition. After adjusting for covariates, parent (p<.05) and partner (p<.01) ASP, but not child ASP, predicted alcohol problems in the middle-aged and combined groups; none were predictive in older adults alone. Partner ASP predicted drug use-related problems (p<.01). Density of family ASP was associated with alcohol problems (p<.001), but not drug use-related problems. There were no gender interactions. Study findings support substance use as a family disease. Screening for family members’ ASP could be valuable for identifying individuals in need of treatment, tailoring treatment services, and preventing substance use from perpetuating intergenerationally.