Psychosocial health and hazardous alcohol use among older adults with Rose LaingPsychosocial health and hazardous alcohol use among older adults with Rose Laing
Addiction Audio
Researcher Rose Laing discusses psychosocial health and hazardous alcohol use among adults aged 50 to 70 in south-east Melbourne, outlining four distinct psychosocial profiles and their links to drinking. The conversation highlights how mental health, social connection and cultural expectations around alcohol intersect, and what this might mean for public health efforts with older adults.
15:52•23 Oct 2026
Psychosocial Health, Social Lives and Hazardous Drinking After 50
Episode Overview
- Psychosocial health combines mental wellbeing and social wellbeing, recognising that how people feel and how they connect with others jointly influence quality of life.
- Among adults aged 50 to 70, Latent Profile Analysis identified four distinct profiles based on levels of social connection and mental health.
- Profiles characterised by poor mental health had the highest probability of hazardous alcohol use, especially those who were socially connected but experiencing poor mental health.
- The findings suggest that mental health may be a stronger risk factor for hazardous drinking than social connection alone, particularly in settings where social contact often involves alcohol.
- Public health strategies for older adults may need to normalise socialising without alcohol and integrate mental health support alongside efforts to reduce hazardous drinking.
“Socialising is almost synonymous with drinking alcohol, so older adults find it really difficult to not drink in these situations because of that expectation.”
Gain insights from experts and survivors on how alcohol use ties into later-life mental and social wellbeing, as researcher Rose Laing talks with host Elle Wadsworth about psychosocial health and hazardous drinking among 50- to 70-year-olds in south-east Melbourne. The conversation breaks down what “psychosocial health” actually means in everyday life.
Rose explains that it’s about how “our psychological wellbeing and our social wellbeing interact to influence our overall health and quality of life,” pointing to loneliness, social isolation and relationship quality as key pieces of the puzzle. You’ll hear why this age group, juggling retirement, caring roles, health changes and bereavement, is such an important – and often overlooked – group in alcohol research.
The episode has a research-focused yet accessible style, aimed at clinicians, researchers, students and anyone curious about how alcohol affects older adults.
One standout finding is that hazardous alcohol use is most likely among those who are socially connected but have poor mental health, hinting that people may drink “to cope in social situations,” especially in cultures where “socialising is almost synonymous with drinking alcohol.” Rose and Elle then talk about what this means for prevention: the need to consider mental health alongside social life, to normalise socialising without alcohol for older adults, and to learn why public health messages that helped younger people cut back haven’t landed the same way for those over 50.
Rose walks through the Beyond 50 study, annual surveys of over 1,000 adults, and explains Latent Profile Analysis in plain language as “a person-centred statistical method that helps us to identify groups of people who share similar experiences or characteristics.” Four distinct psychosocial profiles emerge, from “low social connection, good mental health” to “socially connected, poor mental health,” with age, gender and education shaping who falls where.
It’s a thoughtful listen for anyone wondering how to support healthier – and still connected – later lives. So, how might your own social habits be shaping alcohol use in midlife and beyond?
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