Publication year
2013
Citation Title
Hazardous drinking and family functioning in National Guard veterans and spouses postdeployment.
Journal Name
Journal of Family Psychology
Journal Volume
27
Issue Number
2
Page Numbers
303-313
DOI
10.1037/a0031881
Summary
Survey data were used to examine the rates of alcohol misuse among National Guard members and their relationship partners, congruence of drinking behaviors within couples, and the effects of alcohol misuse, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on relationship satisfaction, parenting stress, and household chaos. Results indicated that although there was no association with combat exposure and alcohol use, problem drinking was associated with poorer relationship satisfaction, and higher levels of parenting stress, depression, and PTSD.
Key Findings
No significant association emerged between combat exposure and later alcohol use in Guard members.
Problem drinking in Guard members was significantly associated with poorer relationship satisfaction, parenting stress, PTSD, and depression, but was unrelated to family chaos.
Guard members who engaged in more problem drinkers tended to be male, age 30 or below, not married, less educated, have lower rank (E1-E4), and lower income (less than $30,000), while partners who engaged in more problem drinking tended to be younger, not married, and childless.
Twenty-nine percent of Guard members and 11% of partners were labeled as problem drinkers.
Implications for Program Leaders
Continue to use evidence-based parenting programs to help military couples parent more effectively and reduce parenting stress and household chaos
Provide professional development for practitioners working with military families regarding the identification and assessment of depression, PTSD, and alcohol misuse
Provide evidence-based programs for military couples, particularly those couples in which both partners are problem drinkers
Implications for Policy Makers
Recommend screenings for PTSD, depression, and alcohol misuse in military settings
Encourage the development and continuation of programs that promote resilience in military families to reduce the risk of problem drinking
Encourage collaboration among DoD programs and community-based orginazations to support Service members and spouses coping with problem drinking
Methods
Participants included Guard members and their committed romantic relationship partners who attended a mandatory two-day reintegration programs between October 2007 and December 2009.
The reintegration program took place 45-90 days after Guard members returned from a 12-month deployment.
Participants were recruited via an announcement made during the reintegration program and volunteered to take the 30-45 minute on-site survey.
Participants
The sample included 1,143 Guard members and 674 partners (n = 1,817).
The majority of Guard members were male (89.0%) and partners were female (96%). Eighty-four percent of the sample were White.
Most participants were White (84%) and between the ages of 31-50 years (47% Service members, 49% spouses) or 22-30 years (38% Service members, 33% spouses).
Limitations
This study focused on Guard members and may not be generalizable to other branches of the military.
Participants may differ from non-participants in a way that was not measured, but affected the outcome variables (e.g., participants may be functioning differently than non-participants).
Data were cross sectional, so causal conclusions cannot be drawn.
Avenues for Future Research
Continue to examine problem drinking and its effects on military family functioning and psychological well-being with a more diverse military sample
Explore alcohol use across time (pre- and post-deployment) to explore the impact of drinking on family outcomes
Investigate the effectivness of military programs aimed at helping Service members cope and their spouses with problem drinking
Focus
Multiple Branches
Target Population
Population Focus
Military Component
Abstract
The current study examined rates of alcohol misuse among National Guard (NG) service members and their spouses/partners, concordance of drinking behaviors among couples, and the effects of alcohol misuse, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on three measures of family functioning. This study is important because it addresses the topics of heavy drinking and family functioning in an at-risk population—NG service members returning from a combat zone deployment. We surveyed NG service members (1,143) and their partners (674) 45–90 days after returning from a military deployment. Service member rates of hazardous drinking were 29.2% and spouses/partners 10.7%. Of the 661 linked couples, 26.2% were discrepant where only one member met the criteria for hazardous drinking and 5.4% were congruent for alcohol misuse where both members met hazardous drinking criteria. Service members belonging to either congruent or discrepant drinking groups were more distressed in their marriages/relationships than those in the nonhazardous group. In dyadic analyses, an unexpected partner effect was found for parenting outcomes; that is, when service members drink more, their spouses/partners are less stressed when it comes to parenting. Importantly, both service member and spouse/partner depression was significantly associated with negative family outcomes. Results from this study suggest that when working with these families, it is important to understand the drinking status of both soldier and spouse and to treat depression in addition to alcohol misuse.
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