and cognitive impairment (Pollow, Stoller, Forster, and Duniho, 1994, pp. 44 49). Such persons frequently experienced chemically induced confusion (Palmieri, 1991, pp. 40 41).
A major problem with the consumption of alcohol by elderly persons is that sensitivity to the substances frequently increases with age (Alcohol, 1994, p. 5). The increased sensitivity to alcohol further aggravates the adverse interactions between alcohol, prescription drugs, over the counter drugs, and substances frequently found in food. Alcohol use by elderly persons also has been found to interfere with patient compliance in taking prescribed drugs as directed (Ross, 1991, pp. 89 94).
Substance abuse among the elderly is a substantial problem (Dunne, 1994, pp. 608 609). Alcohol is by far the substance most frequently abused by elderly persons.
Addiction is a widely used and misused term. People speak of others being addicted to watching sporting event on television, as well as being drug addicts. Scientifically, however, drug addiction is a behavioral pattern of drug use that is characterized by an overwhelming, compulsive involvement with the use of a drug and the securing of a supply of a drug, and a high probability of relapse following withdrawal from use of a drug (Rawson, Obert, McCann, and Marinelli Casey, 1993, pp. 85 95).
Addiction denotes repetitive routines of dysfunctional behavior, whether related to chemicals or activities (Marks, Bradley, Miele, Tilly, First, Frances, and Jaffe, 1990, pp. 1389 1394). Common across dependence syndromes are the repeated urge to participate in counterproductive behaviors, the release of tension through such behaviors, the gradual return of the urge to repeat the behavior, secondary conditioning of the urge, and relapse prevention through cue exposure and stimulus control. Most relapse prevention models are rooted in social learning theory, and attempt to enhance the probability of maintainin...