THE LATE-LIFE AND THE LIFE-LONG: EXPLORING PERSPECTIVES OF FACTORS SHAPING OLDER ADULTS’ ALCOHOL USE

Abstract

The number of older people drinking alcohol is increasing as the population ages. Risks of harm from drinking increase with age as alcohol effects health conditions and medications that are common in later life. Drinking can play a central role in older people’s social and leisure lives. Older people must negotiate perceived risks against benefits of drinking in determining their alcohol use, and other external factors may influence their drinking practices. Care providers are expected to support older people in making informed decisions around their drinking. This paper aims to explore older adults’ and their care providers’ perspectives of factors influencing alcohol use in later life and how these are determined. Twenty-four older adults and 35 care providers across the North of England took part in semi-structured interviews and focus groups. Data were analysed thematically, applying principles of constant comparison. Older people’s drinking routines developed across the life course and in response to late-life transitions. Alcohol was perceived as an earned and accessible pleasure, contributing to quality of life, which older people prioritised over longevity. Risks of future consequences were perceived as less tangible than symptoms or problems. Normalisation and moral positioning served to justify older people’s drinking practices. Risks attached to late-life drinking may be overlooked by older people and their care providers. Structured assessment of older people’s drinking could help identify undetected risks in older people’s alcohol use. Social, routine and moralistic justifications for risky alcohol use must be challenged to address risky drinking amongst older people.