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Aging With or Aging Out of Drug Use? Older Adults’ Experiences of Aging with Long-Term Drug Use
Malmö University, Faculty of Health and Society (HS), Department of Social Work (SA).ORCID iD: 0000-0002-2339-2647
Malmö University, Faculty of Health and Society (HS), Department of Social Work (SA).ORCID iD: 0000-0003-0653-0849
Malmö University, Faculty of Health and Society (HS), Department of Social Work (SA).ORCID iD: 0000-0002-1447-6478
2025 (English)In: Contemporary Drug Problems, ISSN 0091-4509, E-ISSN 2163-1808, Vol. 52, no 3, p. 276-294Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Older adults with long-term drug use have long been overlooked in both drug research and agingresearch. More knowledge is needed about their experiences and needs. Drug use is often seen asa youth phenomenon and as something that with time leads to destructiveness and compulsion. Amore nuanced picture of who uses drugs and what the use may look like over time is necessary.There is limited insight into what it means to age with drug use, based on individuals’ own storiesand experiences. We conducted 27 semistructured interviews in Sweden with individuals aged 55or older who reported current and long-term drug use. In this article, we demonstrate how the relationship with drugs evolves over time and how the interviewees contemplate stopping or continuingtheir use. Three themes were identified: (1) Aging out of drug use: Thoughts on drug cessation. Someexpressed a desire to end their drug use. The reasons behind this varied, but there was a clear patternrelated to older age. (2) Aging with drug use: Thoughts on continued use. Some had a desire to continueusing drugs and expressed concern about how everyday life would be without them. (3) Age adapteddrug use: A change in drug use. Several participants stated that their drug consumption had changedover time and with age. Drugs no longer dominated their lives as before but still served essential functions. The themes should not be seen as rigid categories, but as fluid narratives. Understanding thisvariation provides a deeper insight into people’s often complex relationship with drugs.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Sage Publications, 2025. Vol. 52, no 3, p. 276-294
Keywords [en]
addiction, aging, drug use, life course perspective, lifestyle perspective, maturing out
National Category
Social Work
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-73117DOI: 10.1177/00914509241312855ISI: 001537105300007Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85215520167OAI: oai:DiVA.org:mau-73117DiVA, id: diva2:1929746
Funder
Forte, Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and WelfareAvailable from: 2025-01-21 Created: 2025-01-21 Last updated: 2025-08-11Bibliographically approved

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Liahaugen Flensburg, OliviaRichert, TorkelAlftberg, Åsa

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CiteExportLink to record
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