Mediating Effect of Alcohol Use: Retirement and Mental Health in the United States
Name: Julián Ponce
School: Mailman School of Public Health, Class of 2021
Mentor: Kim Hekimian, PhD and Antonia Díaz-Valdés Iriarte, Ph.D., MSW
Abstract
The world and the United States are rapidly aging, however very few are prepared for the economic, social, and psychological impact of the retirement transition. Alcohol consumption among older adults is growing and could be associated with self-medication of the mental health issues related to the retirement transition. This study aimed to understand the effect of retirement on depression among older adults, explore how the conditions that they bring to retirement influence depression, and explore whether alcohol mediates the association. This cross-sectional study drew data from the 2016 wave of the Rand Health and Retirement Study (HRS). The Barron and Kenny (1986) approach will be used to conduct a mediation analysis in Stata SE 15.0 between retirement (0 = not retired, 1= partially or fully retired), alcohol use ( 0 = No alcohol consumption, 1 = Moderate drinking [1 drink a day for women, 1-2 drinks a day for men], 2 = Heavy drinking [ 2-3 drinks a day for women, 3-4 drinks a day for men], 3 = Binge Drinking [4 or more drinks a day for women, 5 or more drinks a day for men), and depressive symptoms (0 = 3 or less depressive symptoms, 1= over 3 depressive symptoms), controlling by age, prior psyche problem, self-rated health, education, number of pensions, gender, early retirement, marital status, feeling lonely, and disability episodes. Generalized models will be used (multinomial and logistic link functions). This study adds to the conversation on retirement, alcohol consumption, and mental health among one of the largest growing and overlooked populations.