Evidence for Cohort or Generational Differences in the Drinking Behavior of Older Adults

Abstract

Data from a survey of 928 older Bostonians show that there is a negative correlation between age and alcohol consumption among older adults: i.e., “old-old” people-those who are seventy-five years old or older—are more likely to abstain and less likely to drink in any quantity than the “younger-old”—those aged sixty-seventy-five years old. Since the study collected only cross-sectional data, it is not clear whether there are developmental trends in alcohol consumption-that people drink less as they grow older—or whether there are cohort or generational effects. However, several retrospective data suggest that there are cohort or generational patterns of drinking behavior by older adults. Very old respondents, who now drink less than their younger counterparts, report consistently different patterns of life-long drinking habits; they report different parental drinking habits, and they have consistently different attitudes toward the effects of alcohol consumption upon health. The survey provides no insight into the nature of the historical factors which account for the differences in alcohol use. However, Prohibition, Repeal, and the Depression are likely to have played important roles.