Research
Current Projects
Substance Use and Relationship Health in Older Adults
Development of an Etiological Model of Alcohol and Substance Use Facilitated Relationship Distress and Intimate Partner Violence to Promote Healthy Relationships among Aging Adults
Funded by a CBCS Internal Research Award, the goal of this project is to examine how common relationship problems and alcohol/substance use are among older adults, and to identify the factors that make them more vulnerable to intimate partner violence and relational distress. Additionally, we hope to determine the feasibility of using self-report, observational, and ecological momentary assessments for potential funding applications.
To address these research questions, we will use a mixed-method approach to better understand the mechanisms that underlie the associations between intimate partner violence (IPV), relational distress, and alcohol and substance abuse. We will use questionnaire data collected via Amazon MTurk to examine the prevalence of IPV and substance use. Additionally, we will evaluate the feasibility of utilizing ecological momentary assessment (EMA) in combination with two laboratory sessions. Recruitment will be comprehensive and entail both online strategies (e.g., Facebook advertisements), and community outreach. The data will be analyzed with the goal to strengthen a R03 or R21 proposal to further explicate the mechanisms that underlie alcohol/substance use facilitated relationship dysfunction, and ultimately further intervention development to improve aging adults鈥� individual and interpersonal well-being.