The Gerontology Alcohol Project, a treatment/research program investigating the characteristics of the late-life onset elderly alcohol abuser, was used as a model for a new program which emphasized teaching the elderly abusers how to break down their personal drinking behavior chain and deal with the antecedents of drinking behavior, to use…

Assessed the effectiveness of the Gerontology Alcohol Project, a self management treatment program for adult-onset alcohol abusers. Results indicated a marked success for those completing the treatment program, including an improved social support network. (JAC)

This paper describes the Gerontology Alcohol Project (GAP), which was established by the National Institute of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse as a pilot treatment/research project for late life drinkers, those who begin abusing alcohol after age 50. Two strategies developed by GAP for identifying elderly alcohol abusers are described including…