Associations between deployment, military rank, and binge drinking in active duty and Reserve/National Guard US servicewomen

Abstract

Service characteristics including deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan (vs. those not deployed) and lower rank (vs. officers) may be a risk factor for recent binge drinking and higher frequency of binge drinking among servicewomen, after adjusting for demographic covariates. Public health and clinical implications are discussed.

2018 Department of Defense Health Related Behaviors Survey (HRBS): Results for the Reserve Component

“…Research examining data from the PDHA and the PDHRA indicates that Army soldiers in the reserve component reported similar rates of alcohol misuse to active-duty Army personnel: About 12 to 15 percent reported at least one positive response on a two-item alcohol misuse screener (Milliken, Auchterlonie, and Hoge, 2007). Other work has found similar rates of alcohol misuse among active-duty and reserve component members; for example, rates of binge drinking were 9 and 8 percent for active-duty and reserve component women in a midwestern community sample of more than 1,000 servicewomen (Cucciare et al, 2015). Rates of alcohol misuse three and six months postdeployment were higher for reserve component service members in the National Guard than for those in the active component (Thomas et al, 2010).…”

Does Drinking Culture Induce Problematic Alcohol Use? Evidence From a Military Representative Survey in Korea

“…A number of studies have determined the relationship between drinking and various factors such as sex, marital status, educational status, military rank, and deployment status. 8,9,[39][40][41][42] A US study identified that male sex, young age, alcohol dependence history, co-existence of depression and PTSD, and current smoking are related to alcohol use problems. 8 Another US study showed that male gender, service in the Marine Corps and lower educational level were related to heavy alcohol use.…”

Social status and susceptibility to wildfire smoke among outdoor-housed female rhesus monkeys: A natural experiment

“…Evidence suggests that lower SEP may increase susceptibility to environmental exposures [ 41 , 42 ], and it is hypothesized that much of this susceptibility may be mediated through chronic life stress [ 15 , 16 ]. People with lower SEP often experience higher levels of psychological stress, and consequent increases in urinary stress hormones (cortisol and epinephrine) [ 32 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 ]. Chronic stress can alter secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines, disturb lymphatic tissue function, and alter hormone levels via activating signaling pathways including the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis (HPA) and the sympathetic-adrenal-medullary (SAM) system [ 48 , 49 ].…”