At Any Age, It Does Matter:
Substance Abuse and Older Adults (for Professionals)

Supplements

Gender Issues

Studies comparing the effectiveness of single-sex and mixed-gender programs are lacking. However, some women patients may be better served by all-female treatment groups and facilities. Many older women defer to men and may take subservient roles in a treatment group. These women could be less likely to become leaders in the group or to build their self-esteem. However, a talented group therapist can turn the roles of men and women in the group into therapeutic assets.

Both women and men may have personal issues related to their drinking that they would be reluctant to discuss with, or in the presence of, members of the opposite sex. This reluctance is likely to be greater for older adults. Many have a heightened need for privacy that discourages open discussions of personal issues and socialization with members of the opposite sex.

In response to the concerns of older adults, programs involving group treatment might provide separate meetings of men and women as needed without disrupting the larger program. Such meetings may never be necessary or may take place intermittently, depending on the group members' needs or preferences to discuss certain topics in same-sex settings.

Although most problem drinkers are men, more women misuse prescription drugs, and there are more women than men overall in the aging population. Women use more psychoactive drugs than men do.1-4 In fact, some researchers consider prescription drug abuse a major substance abuse issue among older women.

Some studies report that older men are prescribed antidepressants as often as or more often than women. It is not known whether this is a function of greater use of medical services by aging men or a difference in the diagnosis of depression among older adults.4,5

References

  1. Falvo, D.R.; Holland, B.; Brenner, J.; et al. Medication use practices in the ambulatory elderly. Health Values 1990, 14(3):10-16.
  2. Ostrom, J.R.; Hammarlund, E.R.; Kristenson, D.B.; et al. Medication usage in an elderly population. Medical Care 1985, 23:157-164.
  3. Venner, A.M.; Krupka, L.R.; and Climo, J.J. Drug usage and health characteristics in noninstitutionalized retired persons. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 1980, 27:83-90.
  4. Gomberg, E.S.L. Older women and alcohol use and abuse. In: Galanter, M., ed. Recent Developments in Alcoholism: Volume 12. Alcoholism and Women. New York: Plenum Press, 1995, pp. 61-79.
  5. Gomberg, E.S.L. "Elderly alcoholic men and women in treatment." Paper presented at the Research Society on Alcoholism Annual Scientific Meeting, San Diego, California, 1992.
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