Publication year
2011
Citation Title
Socio-cultural factors that foster use and abuse of alcohol among a sample of enlisted personnel at four Navy and Marine Corps installations.
Journal Name
Military Medicine
Journal Volume
176
Issue Number
4
Page Numbers
397-401
DOI
10.7205/MILMED-D-10-00240
Summary
Fifteen focus groups were conducted with enlisted personnel at two Navy and two Marine Corps installations to explore the drinking climate of each installation in terms of shared attitudes and recognized norms. Study participants (N = 111 participants) were enrolled in the Program for Alcohol Training, Research, and Online Learning. The findings provide exploratory information on the context of various drinking behaviors among military personnel on the selected installations.
Key Findings
The groups identified as most likely to use alcohol regularly and become intoxicated were personnel who were male, in their first enlistment, young, and unmarried. Based on themes, researchers categorized three general types of drinkers: social drinkers, recreational drinkers, and stress and coping drinkers.
Findings suggest that the climate in which enlisted personnel live and work is conducive to drinking. The focus group discussions revealed attitudes and norms regarding alcohol use that are unspoken but appear to be shared by enlisted personnel across the participating military installations.
Installation convenience stores and the exchange were reported to facilitate spontaneous and recreational drinking by providing ample supply of alcohol at reduced prices.
Implications for Program Leaders
Educate Service members and their families about the types of drinking behaviors on installations and the environmental factors that influence the potential for high rates of alcohol use
Include information about drinking climates on installations in staff training curricula to improve efforts and outcomes in the reduction of alcohol consumption
Disseminate information regarding possible symptoms of substance abuse problems Service members may face after deployment and where individuals and families can find help for those problems
Implications for Policy Makers
Continue to support research designed to examine the relationship between military environments and alcohol consumption among Services members
Recommend integrating substance abuse prevention education into existing service delivery systems for military families
Encourage collaboration among DoD programs and community-based organizations to bridge mental health and substance abuse resources for Service members
Methods
Study participants were enrolled in the Program for Alcohol Training, Research, and Online Learning in 2006, a project to develop and test a Web-based program for reducing alcohol use among active duty military personnel.
Focus groups were conducted with enlisted personnel at two Navy and two Marine Corps installations.
Themes or patterns from across the sample of military installations were identified and analyzed.
Participants
One hundred eleven Service members completed the study. Most participants were junior enlisted (68%).
Participants were either from the Marine Corp (55%) or Navy (45%).
Ethnicity and gender composition of the sample was not specified.
Limitations
Participants were only from the Navy and Marine Corp on U.S. coasts, which limits generalizability to other military branches and installation locations.
Objective self- or clinical-reports of drinking behaviors were not collected. Hence, focus group discussions, which described the general drinking climate at installations, may not reflect the full range of drinking behaviors.
Lack of data on the race/ethnicity and gender of the sample limits the ability to understand how those factors may impact the findings.
Avenues for Future Research
Explore alcohol use among Service members enlisted in different branches of the military
Examine patterns of alcohol use prior to enlistment and how factors such as past trauma, race/ethnicity, and gender impact those patterns
Evaluate the effectiveness of substance abuse prevention programs in reducing drinking
Focus
Multiple Branches
Target Population
Population Focus
Military Component
Abstract
Rates of heavy drinking are consistently higher among U.S. military personnel than among civilians, particularly among young male personnel. In addressing drinking in the military, more information is needed on contextual factors influencing drinking to better understand the conditions that lead to or facilitate drinking. Results from 15 focus groups conducted with enlisted personnel at 2 Navy and 2 Marine Corps installations as part of formative research for an alcohol abuse prevention trial are reported in this article. The study explored the “drinking climate” of each installation in terms of shared attitudes and recognized norms regarding alcohol use and installation personnel’s general understanding of policies concerning alcohol consumption. Analysis revealed several contextual factors that add to our understanding of drinking behaviors.
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