Author(s): Ilana S Hairston
Understanding factors that contribute to the onset and maintenance of alcohol use disorders (AUD) has been a central goal of public health policy and federal funding mechanisms for several decades. To date, the majority of empirical studies describing trajectories of alcoholism focused primarily on the period between drinking onset and young adulthood. By contrast, there is a dearth of research focusing on drinking behaviors during late adulthood through midlife and aging. Consequently, risk factors that contribute to the onset and maintenance of AUD later in life are not well defined.
