A Framework for Risk and Protective Factors
for Alcohol- and Drug-Related Problems in Older Adults

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Work to systematize the research on risk and protective factors concerning substance use problems in youth now extends back more than 20 years. No such systematic framework has yet been established for older adults, who clearly face a collection of personal, social, and environmental factors that are very different from those for youth.

In a first effort to systematize the risk/protective factor research on older adults (1989–2002), JBS International, Inc. has developed a table representing a selected piece of the research literature on risk and protective factors. The table includes the following:

• A conceptual framework by domain (individual, family/peers, workplace, and community/environment), which lists the research findings relevant to 30 critical factors for older adults, such as social supports and transitional life events

• An annotated bibliography covering each of the 55 evidence-based articles listed in the risk/protective framework. The bibliography cites the research articles included in the framework, which pertain to both the risk and protective factors, as well as to how gender, race/ethnicity, or socioeconomic status can modify the effect of each risk and protective factor identified for older adults.