Retirement and the Hidden Epidemic : The Complex Link Between Aging, Work Disengagement, and Substance Misuse -- and What to Do about It

Evidence from both local and national surveys suggests that substance misuse and abuse among older adults in the United States is a "hidden epidemic" that poses a major threat to the welfare and quality of life of older drinkers and their families, and has significant public health implications. Based on their findings from a 10-year, NIH-funded study of retirement, aging, and substance misuse, Peter Bamberger and Samuel Bacharach examine the complex web of factors contributing to the precipitation and exacerbation of substance problems among older adults. They discuss the individual and public health implications of such problems, as well as some of the evidence-based steps that may be taken to prevent their emergence and help those in need of assistance for policy-makers and health practitioners. This book provides a single-source review of the latest research assessing the magnitude and costs of older-adult substance abuse, as well as detailed analysis of the epidemiology of older-adult substance abuse. The authors provide an analysis of the efficacy of alternative prevention and treatment strategies, and present scientific evidence in a user-friendly format, highlighting extensive interview data to accompany their statistical results. The illustrations offered by these real life cases not only provide a sense of richness and understanding to a complex issue, but also offer a fitting reminder to the reader that this is an issue affecting people we know and families like our own.

Peter A. Bamberger is Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Recanati Graduate School of Business Administration, Tel Aviv University, and Senior Research Scholar at Cornell University's ILR School. In addition to publishing four books on human resource strategy, industrial relations and employee well-being, Bamberger has published over 70 referred journal articles in such journals as Academy of Management Journal (AMJ) , Administrative Science Quarterly, and Journal of Applied Psychology. Associate editor ofAcademy of Management Journal from 2007 to 2010, he is a founding associate editor of the Academy of Management's newest journal, Discoveries. He received his Ph.D. in organizational behavior from Cornell University in 1990.

Samuel B. Bacharach is the McKelvey-Grant Professor at the ILR School at Cornell University. His is the director of Cornell's New York City-based Smithers Institute for Alcohol-Related Workplace Studies and the Institute for Workplace Studies. Professor Bacharach's research interests center on alcohol use/misuse in the workplace. He has published over 100 academic articles and has written over 20 books. He is co-author of Mutual Aid and Union Renewal (ILR/Cornell University Press) and Member Assistance Programs in the Workplace(ILR/Cornell University Press). He has worked with unions to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of their own Member Assistance Programs. With the Smithers team, he worked on the development of training modules used to train peer counselors.