A LONGITUDINAL-STUDY OF COMPETENCE IN ELDERLY VETERANS - THE ROLE OF ALCOHOL AND EDUCATION

FOLLOW-UP examinations were made of 326 World War II veterans who had served in the Canadian army and for whom enlistment data were available for 1942-45. The veterans were classified into three groups on the basis of their alcohol-related behavior and educational attainments following military service. Eighteen men who had identified themselves as alcoholics were compared to 159 nonalcoholic men who had obtained post-service education and 149 nonalcoholic men who had not obtained post-service education. At time of enlistment the 159 nonalcoholic men who subsequently obtained additional education after their army service had not differed on socioeconomic background but had had significantly more years of education and had scored significantly higher on five of the eight subtests of the Army M test of intelligence than had the other two groups. Examination of current performance revealed that alcoholic and nonalcoholic men with no post-service education continued to function significantly more poorly on the same M Test subtests, and in addition functioned more poorly on socioeconomic criteria, daily functioning, adjustment and personality measures than did the group of veterans with post-service education. Compared to the nonalcoholic veterans who had not gained post-service additional education, the alcoholic group functioned more poorly on measures of health, coping with stress and adjustment. The results are discussed, emphasizing the influence of alcohol and education on psychological functioning in later life.