Depressive Symptoms and Alcohol Abuse/Misuse in Older Adults: Results from the Florida BRITE Project

Previous research has suggested that older adults who misuse alcohol frequently report depressive symptoms as an antecedent to drinking. The objective of the present study was to investigate the extent to which higher levels of depressive symptoms were associated with elders' problem drinking by examining screening data from a three-year pilot program known as the Florida BRITE Project. BRITE (BRief Intervention and Treatment for Elders) is a multisite program offering brief interventions for community-based older adults screening positive for alcohol or medication misuse. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Short Geriatric Depression Scale: alcohol use was assessed with the first three questions from the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test and the Short-Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test-Geriatric version. Multivariate logistic regression revealed that older adults with higher levels of depressive symptoms were at greater risk for screening positive for alcohol problems, particularly among the "young-old" adults. The results not only suggest the importance of screening for both depressive symptoms and alcohol misuse in an older population, but also indicate that older adults are not a homogeneous group.