Conclusions: The large variety of methods to operationalize drug use, mental health status, and
social support probably affected the magnitude of observed relationships. Employing longitudinal
designs and distinguishing short-term from long-term use, focusing on samples of drug users
exclusively, defining drug use and drug classes more uniformly, and utilizing measures of
psychological well-being rather than only of distress, might clarify the nature of observed
associations and the direction of causality. Few studies tested specific hypotheses. Most studies
focused on individual characteristics of respondents, neglecting the potential contribution of health
care professionals to the phenomenon of psychotropic drug use among seniors.