Concordance of use of alcohol and other substances among older adult couples

This study used data from a community survey of 826 older adults to examine the level of concordance of substance use among married couples and the extent to which demographic, social and health factors were associated with concordant drinking patterns. Results showed significant concordance for use of alcohol, caffeine, tobacco and depressant medications, with very high concordance on frequency of drinking and overall volume of consumption of alcohol. Drinking spouses were also very accurate in reporting each other's usual frequency and quantity of alcohol consumption. Education and religiosity were associated with concordance on drinking status (drinker/abstainer), but few other variables were significantly associated with drinking status or drinking level. In particular, marital happiness did not appear to be affected by discordant drinking. The results also indicated that having a drinking spouse (versus an abstinent spouse) was associated with higher levels of drinking. These findings suggest that spousal influence on drinking is an important aspect of drinking among older persons and may have implications for understanding the effects of gender and widowhood on the development of late-onset problem drinking.