RT Article
T1 The Impact of Later Life Events on Cessation Motivation of Older Adults with Substance Use Disorder in Hong Kong
JF International journal of offender therapy and comparative criminology
VO 67
IS 13/14
SP 1362
OP 1382
A1 Cheng, Vincent S.
A2 Lapto, Florence K.
LA English
YR 2023
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1859102387
AB Life-course researchers have found that age-graded life events, such as marriage and employment, may provoke a turning point in the trajectories of substance use and motivate young adults with substance use disorder (SUD) to seek addiction treatment and cease illegal drug use. However, few studies have focused on the impact of the life events experienced by older adults with SUD in their later life on these trajectories. Even less is known about this phenomenon in non-Western contexts. Thus, we conducted interviews with 34 older individuals with SUD in Hong Kong and explored how later life events affected their motivation to cease illegal drug use. Our findings highlight the influence of age on how life events are experienced and the need for age-specific academic studies of substance use trajectories. The results also have implications for policymakers, as the criminalization and stigmatization of drug use may have a negative impact on the trajectories of substance use among older populations.
K1 Older people
K1 cessation motivation
K1 Substance Use
K1 substance use trajectories
K1 addiction treatment programs
K1 older people with substance use disorder
K1 life events
K1 life course perspective
DO 10.1177/0306624X231165421