Couples' Alcohol Use Patterns in Middle and Later Life: Stability and Influence Across 16 Years

2017 AAGP Annual Meeting purpose in life may mitigate the negative aspects of caring for a family member with illness or disability, a commonly encountered stressor in middle and later life. Methods: We utilized a nationally representative US sample of 313 spousal caregivers and their partners aged 65 years and older with functional impairment from the 2011 National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) and the 2011 National Study of Caregiving (NSOC) to evaluate the associations between both care partners’ views of purpose in life and caregivers’ reports of emotional and physical caregiving difficulties. We also considered whether these links varied by caregiver gender. Models controlled for sociodemographic characteristics and several indicators of caregivers’ and care recipients’ health and wellbeing, along with caregivers’ care tasks, engagement in valued activities, and social support resources. Results: Caregivers’ own perceptions of greater purpose in life were linked to fewer physical caregiving difficulties. Caregiving wives who reported more purpose in life also had fewer emotional care-related difficulties. The link between caregivers’ feelings of purpose and emotional caregiving difficulties was moderated by care recipient purpose in life. Specifically, when care recipients perceived low levels of purpose in life, caregivers who felt greater purpose in life had fewer emotional difficulties. Conclusions: Findings underscore the interdependence within spousal care dyads, and suggest that spousal caregiver and care recipient perceptions of purpose in life may be consequential for the experience of care-related difficulties. Caregivers’ greater sense of purpose appears to be particularly valuable in managing the emotional challenges of the care role when care recipients lack this personal resource. This research was funded by: This work was supported by grant 2 T32 MH 073553-11 from the National Institute of Mental Health (Stephen J. Bartels, Principle investigator) and the University of Michigan Program for Positive Aging (Helen C. Kales, Site-Co Director).

Poster Number: EI 29

Couples’ Alcohol Use Patterns in Middle and Later Life: Stability and Influence Across 16 Years Courtney A. Polenick, PhD1; Kira S. Birditt, PhD2; Frederic C. Blow, PhD1 1

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

2

Introduction: Research indicates that wives and husbands may influence one another’s alcohol consumption. Yet little is known about within-couple patterns of alcohol use over time in midlife and later life. The purpose of this study was to examine individual stability and mutual influence in alcohol use across 16 years among middle-aged and older couples. Methods: This study focused on a sample of 901 consistently married wives (M = 56.60 years) and husbands (M = 60.03 years) who participated in nine waves of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). We estimated dyadic multilevel models to examine the stability of one’s own alcohol use (drinks per occasion and drinks per week) over time as well as mutual influences in patterns of alcohol use within couples. Models controlled for marital characteristics, lifetime history of alcohol problems, and known predictors of alcohol use including age, race, education, household income, self-rated health, health conditions, smoking status, and depressive symptoms. Results: Own prior alcohol use positively predicted alcohol use across waves for wives and husbands. Partners’ alcohol use was found to be influential for both spouses and also moderated the stability of alcohol use for wives. Conclusions: This study provides evidence of both individual stability and mutual influence within middle-aged and older couples in their long-term patterns of alcohol consumption. Findings highlight the interdependence between spouses, and imply that partners’ use of alcohol should be considered when examining men’s and women’s alcohol use over time. This research was funded by: This work was supported by grant 2 T32 MH 073553-11 from the National Institute of Mental Health (Stephen J. Bartels, Principal Investigator).

Poster Number: EI 30

Caregiver Burnout: Application of Dialectal Behavioral Therapy Theresa Toledo, MD1; Esther Akinyemi, MD2 1

Henry Ford Hospital Residency Program, Detroit, MI Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, MI

2

S88

Am J Geriatr Psychiatry 25:3S, Supplement 1