Patterns of Alcohol Use Among Canadian Military Personnel and Their Associations With Health and Well-Being

Objective: Heavy drinking increases the risk of injury, adverse physical and mental health outcomes, and loss of productivity. Nonetheless, patterns of alcohol use and related symptomatology among military personnel remain poorly understood. A latent class analysis (LCA) was used to explore the pres...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Health psychology 2016-07, Vol.35 (7), p.685-694
Main Authors: Richer, Isabelle, Lee, Jennifer E. C., Born, Jennifer
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age differences
Alcohol Use
Armed forces
Chronic illnesses
Drinking behavior
Female
Health status
High risk
Human
Injuries
Latent Class Analysis
Male
Marital status
Medical screening
Mental Health
Military Personnel
Physical Health
Polls & surveys
Post traumatic stress disorder
Prevention
Problem drinkers
Productivity
Psychological distress
Serious injuries
Sex differences
Well being
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Summary:Objective: Heavy drinking increases the risk of injury, adverse physical and mental health outcomes, and loss of productivity. Nonetheless, patterns of alcohol use and related symptomatology among military personnel remain poorly understood. A latent class analysis (LCA) was used to explore the presence of subgroups of alcohol users among Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Regular Forces members. Correlates of empirically derived subgroups were further explored. Methods: Analyses were performed on a subsample of alcohol users who participated in a 2008/09 cross-sectional survey of a stratified random sample of currently serving CAF Regular Force members (N = 1980). Multinomial logistic regression models were conducted to verify physical and mental health differences across subgroups of alcohol users. All analyses were adjusted for complex survey design. Results: A 4-class solution was considered the best fit for the data. Subgroups were labeled as follows: Class 1 - Infrequent drinkers (27.2%); Class 2 - Moderate drinkers (41.5%); Class 3 - Regular binge drinkers with minimal problems (14.8%); and Class 4 - Problem drinkers (16.6%). Significant differences by age, sex, marital status, element, rank, recent serious injuries, chronic conditions, psychological distress, posttraumatic stress disorder, and depression symptoms were found across the subgroups. Problem drinkers demonstrated the most degraded physical and mental health. Conclusion: Findings highlight the heterogeneity of alcohol users and heavy drinkers among CAF members and the need for tailored interventions addressing high-risk alcohol use. Results have the potential to inform prevention strategies and screening efforts.
ISSN:0278-6133
1930-7810
DOI:10.1037/hea0000328