Drinking and mental health in middle adulthood: exploring the impact of wellbeing, mental health literacy, and drinking motives on risk of alcohol dependence

CONCLUSION: Findings support research emphasising the influence of drinking motives on risky drinking and highlights how low wellbeing may interact with coping motives to explain risky drinking among middle-aged adults, particularly men. Interventions supporting individuals to understand the relationship between drinking motives and risky drinking, develop adaptive coping strategies, and address the causes of low wellbeing, may be beneficial. However, as the sample was 84% ethnically White, 64% women, 85% educated to at least undergraduate level, and reported a relatively high mean socioeconomic status (6.98 out of 10), the results may not generalise beyond these groups. Future research should use stratified sampling to increase generalisability, as well as exploring whether alcohol-specific, component-specific, or disorder-specific MHL is associated with risky drinking and wellbeing.PMID:38415364 | DOI:10.1080/13607863.2024.2320134

Source: Aging and Mental Health - February 28, 2024 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Angela Creery Emma L Davies Source Type: research