Woodruff Susan I, Hurtado Suzanne L, Simon-Arndt Cynthia M
School of Social Work, San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Drive, HH 203, San Diego, CA.
Health and Behavioral Sciences Department, Naval Health Research Center, 140 Sylvester Road, San Diego, CA.
Mil Med. 2018 Jul 1;183(7-8):e240-e245. doi: 10.1093/milmed/usx121.
Alcohol misuse, in particular binge drinking, is a serious concern among military personnel because it is strongly associated with adverse consequences and has a deleterious effect on readiness. Although most alcohol misuse studies have focused on individual risk factors, studies are increasingly examining environmental influences and strategies for reducing alcohol risks. The purpose of this study is to address gaps in what is known about how service members' perceptions of environmental factors are related to binge drinking in the U.S. Marine Corps.
The relationship between Marines' self-reports of environmental factors and alcohol binge drinking was assessed in this correlational study using data from three large Marine Corps installations drawn from the Department of Defense 2011 Health Related Behaviors Survey of Active Duty Military Personnel (N = 2,933). We proposed several directional hypotheses based on existing civilian and military studies of alcohol use and misuse, as well as health behavior theory.
Agreement with the statements that alcoholic beverages cost too much, that drinking might negatively affect one's military career, and that one's immediate supervisor and installation discourage alcohol use were independently associated with decreased odds of binge drinking (i.e., protective factors). Perceptions that alcoholic beverages are difficult to get was particularly protective; the odds of having binged were lower for participants who endorsed this belief than for those who did not. Perceptions that drinking is part of being in one's unit was a risk factor for binge drinking (odds ratio = 1.29).
Even after accounting for strong sociodemographic correlates, binge drinking was independently associated with a number of environmentally oriented perceptions. Beliefs that alcohol is affordable and easy to access were the strongest environmental correlates of increased risk of binge drinking. Addressing the threat alcohol misuse poses to both Marines and mission readiness will likely require multiple strategies, including both policy and environmental changes.
酒精滥用，尤其是暴饮，是军事人员中一个严重问题，因为它与不良后果密切相关，并对作战准备产生有害影响。尽管大多数酒精滥用研究都集中在个体风险因素上，但越来越多的研究开始考察环境影响以及降低酒精风险的策略。本研究的目的是填补关于美国海军陆战队现役军人对环境因素的认知与暴饮之间关系的认知空白。
在这项相关性研究中，我们使用了来自国防部2011年现役军事人员健康相关行为调查的三个大型海军陆战队驻地的数据（N = 2933），评估了海军陆战队员对环境因素的自我报告与酒精暴饮之间的关系。我们基于现有的关于酒精使用和滥用的 civilian 和军事研究以及健康行为理论提出了几个方向性假设。
认同酒精饮料价格过高、饮酒可能对军事生涯产生负面影响以及直属上级和驻地不鼓励饮酒这些说法，与暴饮几率降低独立相关（即保护因素）。认为酒精饮料难以获得的认知尤其具有保护作用；认同这一观点的参与者暴饮的几率低于不认同的参与者。认为饮酒是所在单位文化一部分的认知是暴饮的一个风险因素（优势比 = 1.29）。
即使在考虑了强大的社会人口统计学相关因素之后暴饮仍与一些以环境为导向的认知独立相关。认为酒精价格实惠且容易获得是暴饮风险增加的最强环境相关因素。应对酒精滥用对海军陆战队员和作战准备构成的威胁可能需要多种策略，包括政策和环境变革。
