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Background: There is a lack of research on the role of alcohol consumption in cigarette smoking among older adults, and the few studies on alcohol use and smoking with older adults have failed to distinguish between average level and pattern of drinking as predictors of smoking. The main purpose of this study was to examine the independent contributions of average level versus pattern of drinking as predictors of cigarette smoking among older adults. A subsidiary purpose was to examine the link between continued smoking and mortality among older smokers. Methods: We investigated average level and pattern of drinking as predictors of current smoking among 1,151 older adults at baseline and of continued smoking and mortality among the subset of 276 baseline smokers tracked across 20 years. We used multiple linear and logistic regression analyses and, to test mediation, bias‐corrected bootstrap confidence intervals. Results: A high level of average drinking and a pattern of episodic heavy drinking were concurrently associated with smoking at baseline. However, only episodic heavy drinking was prospectively linked to continued smoking among baseline smokers. Continued smoking among baseline smokers increased the odds of 20‐year mortality and provided an indirect pathway through which heavy episodic drinking related to mortality. Conclusions: Smokers who misuse alcohol are a challenging population for smoking cessation efforts. Older adults who concurrently misuse alcohol and smoke cigarettes provide a unique target for public health interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the linkages in the treatment process chains that are thought to underlie two prevalent approaches to substance abuse treatment, traditional 12-Step treatment and cognitive-behavioral treatment. The focus is on the 'proximal outcomes' specified by the two treatment approaches and their relation to 'ultimate' substance use outcomes assessed at a 1-year follow-up. A total of 2687 men who received treatment in 15 Department of Veterans Affairs substance abuse treatment programs were assessed at treatment entry, at or near discharge, and at a 1-year follow-up. Based on the results of factor analyses, composite proximal outcomes variables were constructed to assess 12-Step cognitions, 12-Step behaviors, cognitive-behavioral beliefs, substance-specific coping, and general coping. Correlation analyses indicated that some of the proximal outcome composites assessed at treatment discharge were linked to 1 -year outcomes, but the relationships were weak ( r= .09 to .15). At follow-up, the cross-sectional relationships between the proximal outcome composites and two substance use outcomes were stronger, but still modest in magnitude ( r= .16 to .39). The weak predictive findings suggest some mechanism is needed to sustain treatment-induced change on proximal outcomes so that positive ultimate outcomes can be achieved more frequently. In this regard, participation in continuing care was associated with enhanced maintenance of treatment gains on proximal outcomes. However, the modest cross-sectional relationships between proximal and substance use outcomes at follow-up suggest that the theories on which 12-Step and cognitive-behavioral substance abuse treatments are based are not sufficiently comprehensive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent surveys of the substance abuse patient population have shown a striking increase in the proportion of patients with a comorbid psychiatric disorder. In this study, patients with substance abuse and psychotic, anxiety/depressive, or personality disorders were compared with patients with only substance use disorders on treatment experiences and outcomes. Regardless of dual diagnosis status, patients generally improved on both substance use and social functioning outcomes after substance abuse treatment. At the 1-year follow-up, dually diagnosed patients, and patients with only substance use disorders, had comparable substance use outcomes. However, patients with major psychiatric disorders, specifically psychotic and anxiety/depressive disorders, fared worse on psychological symptoms and employment outcomes than did patients with personality disorders and only substance use disorders. Although there were some group differences on the amount of index treatment received and continuing care, the overall pattern of relationships between treatment variables and outcomes was comparable for the patient groups. In addition, there was no diagnostic group by treatment orientation matching effects, which indicated that the dual diagnosis patient groups improved as much in 12-Step as in cognitive-behavioral substance abuse programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined several hypotheses for matching patients to 12-Step and cognitive-behavioral (CB) treatments in a multisite evaluation of VA inpatient substance abuse programs. A total of 804 male patients in five 12-Step programs, and 1069 male patients in five CB programs completed an intake, discharge, and 1-year follow-up questionnaire. The findings did not support the notion that certain patient characteristics would differentially predict better outcomes after 12-Step and CB treatment. This conclusion held when the purest 12-Step and CB programs were used, and when patients who received the full dose of treatment (i.e., treatment completers) were examined separately. Process analyses of the hypothesized mechanisms underlying the patient-treatment matching effects did not yield the expected links among patient characteristics, proximal outcomes, and 1-year outcomes. Our conclusion is that there is no advantage to matching men with substance abuse problems to 12-Step or CB treatments based on the patient attributes measured here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Affiliation with Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and other 12-Step self-help groups is becoming more common at the same time as professional substance abuse treatment services are becoming less available and of shorter duration. As a result of these two trends, patients' outcomes may be increasingly influenced by the degree to which professional treatment programs help patients take maximum advantage of self-help groups. The present study of 3018 treated veterans examined how the theoretical orientation of a substance abuse treatment program affects (1) the proportion of its patients that participate in self-help groups, and, (2) the degree of benefit patients derive from participation in self-help groups. Patients treated in 12-Step and eclectic treatment programs had higher rates of subsequent participation in 12-Step self-help groups than did patients treated in cognitive behavioral programs. Furthermore, the theoretical orientation of treatment moderated the outcome of self-help group participation: As the degree of programs' emphasis on 12-Step approaches increased, the positive relationships of 12-Step group participation to better substance use and psychological outcomes became stronger. Hence, it appears that 12-Step oriented treatment programs enhance the effectiveness of 12-Step self-help groups. Findings are discussed in terms of implications for clinical practice and for future evaluations of the combined effects of treatment and self-help groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined mortality risk for individuals in four alcohol consumption categories and identified life context and coping factors that independently predicted mortality among late-middle-aged drinkers and former drinkers ( n= 1869). Compared with light drinkers, former drinkers (current abstainers) were at increased mortality risk; moderate drinkers were at decreased risk. Consistent with previous research on older samples, heavy drinkers were not at increased risk. Abstainers' increased risk was reduced in a model that controlled for life context and coping factors. Other independent predictors of mortality included reporting an illness stressor, stressor severity, less participation in activities with friends, greater use of resigned acceptance and alternative rewards coping, and less use of cognitive avoidance and emotional discharge coping. The findings support previous research on the alcohol-mortality relationship among older adults, and highlight the fact that abstainers' life stressors and avoidance coping responses may be more important predictors of their mortality than their abstention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study describes mortality rates and predictors of mortality among late-middle-aged and older (55+) substance abuse inpatients ( n= 21, 139) in Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Centers in the 4 years after an index episode of care. A total of 24% of the patients died; this mortality rate was 2.64 times higher than expected. Predictors of earlier mortality included older age and nonmarried status, alcohol psychosis and organic brain disorder diagnoses, and several medical diagnoses, including neoplasms, liver cirrhosis, respiratory, endocrine and metabolic, and blood system disorders. Three proxy indicators of illness severity also predicted mortality: more prior inpatient and outpatient medical care and an index episode in an extended care unit. In contrast, more prior outpatient mental health care and remitted status predicted lower mortality. These diagnostic and treatment indicators can be used to identify patients at heightened risk for premature mortality. Moreover, they show that intensive mental health aftercare and remission of substance abuse may delay mortality, even among older patients who have longstanding substance abuse problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This 4-year follow-up study compared stably remitted late-life problem drinkers to nonremitted problem drinkers and nonproblem drinkers. At time 1, to-be-remitted drinkers reported less alcohol consumption and fewer drinking problems, more depression and less self-confidence, less spousal support and approval of drinking from friends, and more help-seeking than did to-be-nonremitted drinkers. Remitted drinkers showed improvement in functioning and life context at the 4-year follow-up, but compared with nonproblem drinkers some deficits persisted. Stable remission and abstinence among late-onset drinkers were closely tied to receiving less spousal support and approval from friends for drinking at time 1, whereas helpseeking was a strong predictor of stable remission and abstinence among early-onset problem drinkers. For both late- and early-onset drinkers, abstinence was predicted by initially having more drinking problems, depression, and health stressors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]