Les psychotropes et le vieillissement normal: une perspective psychosociale et socio-économique

Abstract

The goal of this study was to examine the reaction (anxiety, depression, and helplessness) and adaptive strategies (problem-solving and emotion-reducing) of community-dwelling elderly, confronted by one specific chronic stressor. We have conducted three face-to-face home interviews on a monthly basis with a follow-up interview seven months later. There were 237 psychotropic drug users and non-users, of high or low socio-economic status. Not only were low socio-economic psychotropic drug users more anxious about the targeted hassle of the week, but they also relied on and used more problem-solving strategies than non-drug users. It is suggested that psychotropic drug use be looked at as a strategy like any others rather than as passive behaviour when facing daily hassles. Moreover, using a high number of coping strategies is not synonymous with being good at coping with chronic stress. Various recommandations for clinical intervention are put forward.

Medications as Social Phenomena

“…1. Each of the following factors and situations has been observed, in one or another study, to be a significant predictor of medication use/prescription: age, gender, presenting complaints, physical condition, stress level, and attitudes toward medication (Pérodeau et al, 1992(Pérodeau et al, , 1996; perception of social network (Pérodeau and Galbaud du Fort, 2000); family structure (Mishara, 1997); social representations of health and illness (Morant, 1998); personal characteristics of physicians (Davidson et al, 1995); type of third-party payer (Sclar et al, 1998); cultural preferences for certain diagnoses and medications (Payer, 1990); new technologies and changed political and economic environments which affect medication availability and determine its regulation (Davis, 1996); and promotional practices by pharmaceutical manufacturers which -as we discuss in this article -respond to and create professional and consumer demand. 2.…”

Psychotropic Drug Use and the Relation Between Social Support, Life Events, and Mental Health in the Elderly

“…Despite the abundance of studies on the interaction between mental health and stress-related factors such as life events (i.e., major events such as loss of a spouse or a serious illness) or social support (Flannery & Wieman, 1989;Swindle, Cronkite, & Moos, 1989), little is known of this relationship when prescribed psychoactive drug use is introduced into the equation. When users are simply contrasted with nonusers on various chosen health and psychosocial variables (Antonijoan, Barbanoj, Torrent, & Jane, 1990;Pariente, Lepine, & Lellouch, 1992;Pérodeau, Jomphe Hill, Hay-Paquin, & Amyot, 1996;Weyerer & Dilling, 1991), they invariably appear under a more negative light than the latter group. However, when associative patterns between variables are examined, results are more ambiguous.…”