1. Drs. Yannic van Gils Prof. Dr. Erik Franck Prof. Dr. Eva Dierckx
Drinking motives of community dwelling older adults and its associated factors.
Drs. Yannic van Gils
Prof. Dr. Erik Franck
Prof. Dr. Eva Dierckx 1

2. In this area of Europe: INTRODUCTION
Older adults (60+) are the fastest growing segment of the population
By 2050, 2 billion people will be aged 60+ worldwide (WHO)
In this area of Europe:

3. INTRODUCTION
Alcohol use
A high prevalence of alcohol use among older adults is reported in different parts of the world
Prevalence
Europe
47.9% to 73% US
51.1% to 83.3%
Australia
48,1%
Asia
men: 31.3% to 44.1%
women: 4.8% to 9.3%

4. INTRODUCTION
Drinking motives
Their consumption habits are very different from those of the younger generations
Little is known about the reasons why older adults drink alcohol
Most common reasons are social like having fun and celebrating
Medicinal purposes and coping motives have also been reported

5. INTRODUCTION
But…
Social motives are associated with quantity of drinking (binge drinking)
Coping motives are frequently reported by at risk drinkers
drinking to cope with feelings like anxiety and depression
Coping motives are directly associated with alcohol problems

6. AIM
Aim of this study:
Explore the drinking motives of a general drinking population of 65+ in Flanders
Explore the associated factors of the drinking motives of a general drinking population of 65+ in Flanders
Explore the association between drinking motives and alcohol related problems in a general drinking population of 65+ in Flanders

7. METHOD
Demographics
Drinking older adults 65+
North Belgium (Flanders)
N = 1.150
Women: 605 (47,3%)
Age M(SD): 73,02 (5,94)

8. METHOD
Measures
Alcohol use
Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT)
2 first questions
Drinking patterns
National Institue for Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) guidelines
Moderate drinking: ≤ 3 units/day AND ≤ 7 units/week
Heavy drinking: >3 units/day OR >7 units/week
Binge drinking: MEN ≥5 units & WOMEN ≥ 4 units in a day

9. METHOD
Measures
Drinking motives
Drinking Motives Questionnair (DMQ)
Respons scale of 1=never to 4=always
3 motives:
Social motive
Coping motive
Enhancement motive
Mean of at least 2 is relevant (Gilson, 2013)

10. METHOD
Measures
Alcohol related problems
Michigan Alcohol Screening Test Geriatric version (MAST-G)
Dichotomus answers (yes-no)
Higher scores respresent more alcohol related problems
Score ≥5 = alcohol problem

11. RESULTS
What are the drinking motives of a general drinking population of 65+?
*score ≥2 is relevant (Gilson et al., 2013)

12. RESULTS
What are the associated factors of the SOCIAL drinking motive of a general drinking population of 65+?
Gender: men
Age: younger older adults (65-74)
Living situation: living alone
Education level: higher education
Educ level spouse: higher education
Smoking status: (stoped) smoking
Family history of alcohol problems

13. RESULTS
What are the associated factors of the COPING drinking motive of a general population of 65+?
Age: younger older adults (65-74)
Smoking status: smokers
Family history of alcohol problems

14. RESULTS
What are the associated factors of the ENHANCEMENT drinking motive of a general population of 65+?
Gender: men
Age: younger older adults (65-74)
Education level: higher education
Educ level spouse: higher education
Smoking status: smokers
Family history of alcohol problems

15. RESULTS
What are the associated factors of the drinking motives of a general drinking population of 65+?
Heavy drinkers reported coping and enhancement motives more frequently

16. RESULTS
What are the associated factors of the drinking motives of a general drinking population of 65+?
Binge drinkers did not reporte social motives more frequently
Binge drinkers reported coping an enhancement motives more frequently

17. RESULTS
Drinking motives associated with alcohol related problems (Binary Logistic Regression )
Olders adults who use alcohol to cope have 9 times more the likelyhood to have a positive score on MAST-G (score ≥ 5)
Olders adults who use alcohol for enhancement have 4 times more the likelyhood to have a positive score on MAST-G (score ≥ 5)

18. DISCUSSION
The most sited drinking motive was the social motive (54,2%)
This is in line with previous research
14% of the drinking population reported using alcohol for coping purposes
To cope with anxiety, depression, lonelyness
Palliative coping strategy
17,9% reported drinking for enhancement motives
More frequently reported by heavy drinkers and binge drinkers
Strong association with alcohol related problems

19. DISCUSSION
Coping drinking motives
Men
Younger older adults
Higher education
Smoking
Family of history
Older adults who drink to cope have 9 times more the tendency to have alcohol related problems

20. DISCUSSION
Enhancement drinking motives
Younger older adults
Smoking
Family of history
Older adults who drink to cope have 4 times more the tendency to have alcohol related problems

21. DISCUSSION
Coping motives
Enhancement motives
Younger older adults
Smoking
Family of history
Men
Younger older adults (65-74)
Higher education
Smokers
Family history of alcohol problems
9 times more the likelyhood to have a positive score on MAST-G (score ≥ 5)
9 times more the likelyhood to have a positive score on MAST-G (score ≥ 5)

22. DISCUSSION