Alcohol Use Among Young Adults in the Military

by National Institute of Health

Heavy alcohol use is a significant problem in the military. Personnel often use alcohol in an attempt to cope with stress, boredom, loneliness, and the lack of other recreational activities. The easy availability of alcohol, ritualized drinking opportunities, and inconsistent policies contribute to a work culture that facilitates heavy and binge drinking in this population. Prevention strategies such as alcohol use policies combined with campaigns focusing on alcohol deglamorization, personal responsibility, and health promotion currently are being implemented to help reduce heavy alcohol use, but further research is needed to evaluate the effects of these efforts. Understanding the characteristics of military culture that encourage or allow heavy and binge drinking practices also will help in designing effective prevention approaches.

Relative to other substance use, heavy drinking (i.e., consuming five or more drinks per typical drinking occasion at least once a week) appears to be a particularly persistent problem in the military. Although illicit drug use and cigarette smoking both decreased significantly over the period from 1980 to 2002, heavy alcohol use did not show the same decline. In fact, heavy alcohol use increased significantly from 1998 to 2002 for the first time since 1988. In 2002, 27 percent of young adults in the military reported heavy drinking, compared with only 8.9 percent of 26- to 55-year-olds.

Heavy drinking also is prevalent among those entering the military. A study tracking high school students into adulthood found that those who entered the military were more likely than other young adults to have been heavy drinkers in high school.

When controlling for marital status, living arrangements, pregnancy, and parenthood, military service itself seemed to contribute to the increases in drinking. A study of young adults entering the U.S. Navy in 1998 examined the degree to which their drinking patterns changed from pre-entry through the first 3 years of service. Before entering the military, approximately 26 percent of recruits reported frequent heavy drinking (i.e., consuming at least five drinks [for men] and at least four drinks [for women] per typical drinking occasion at least once a week throughout the previous year). At followup 2 years later, the overall prevalence of frequent heavy drinking within the study's cohort remained largely unchanged. The study found that 2 years into their military enlistment, heavy drinkers could be classified in near-equal numbers as (1) those who were pre-enlistment heavy drinkers and continued the same drinking pattern, and (2) those who were not pre-enlistment heavy drinkers but began heavy drinking after completing their training. These findings suggest that young adults in the military are at risk for alcohol-related problems, making them important candidates for alcohol-related prevention programs.

This article reviews the prevalence of alcohol use among young adults in all four branches of the military, comparing their drinking rates with those of young adult civilians, whether or not they are enrolled full-time in college. Risk factors for heavy drinking among young adults in the military are discussed, along with strategies for reducing hazardous drinking among these young people.

Rates of Alcohol Use among Young Military Personnel

Rates of heavy alcohol use among 18- to 25-year-old military personnel differ significantly by service branch and by gender, as shown in the accompanying table. For example, young males in the Marines Corps have the highest rate of heavy alcohol use, at 38.6 percent; among males in the Air Force, the rate is 24.5 percent. Young men in the Army and Navy have similar rates of heavy drinking. A somewhat different pattern of heavy drinking rates is observed for young women. Rates of heavy drinking are higher for women in the Marine Corps and Navy and lower in the Air Force and Army. Rates of heavy drinking in all service branches are nearly four times higher among young men (32.2 percent) than among young women (8.1 percent). In addition, more than half (53.8 percent) of all young military personnel reported at least one episode of binge drinking (defined here as having consumed five or more drinks on the same occasion at least once in the past 30 days).

In terms of alcohol-related problems, Bray and colleagues found that the highest levels of negative effects - serious consequences (e.g., missing a week or more of duty because of a drinking-related illness or being arrested for driving while impaired), productivity loss, and dependence symptoms - occurred among military personnel in the lowest pay grades. (Other serious consequences included not being promoted, receiving a low performance rating, being arrested for another alcohol-related reason, being involved in a traffic crash resulting in injury or property damage, and fighting while drinking.) These pay grades generally correspond to the youngest enlisted service members, who typically lack a college education. During 2002, 20.2 percent of junior enlisted personnel reported serious alcohol-related consequences, 27.2 percent reported lost productivity, and 22.6 percent reported symptoms of dependence.

Military vs. Civilian Alcohol Use

The prevalence of heavy alcohol use among young military personnel differs markedly from that of civilians in the same age group, as revealed by standardized comparisons. Standardization is a set of techniques used to remove, as far as possible, the effects of differences in age, gender, or other confounding factors when comparing two populations. As the table shows, young men in each service branch had significantly higher rates of heavy drinking than their civilian counterparts. Of the young men in all branches of the military, 32.2 percent engaged in heavy drinking, compared with 17.8 percent of civilian men. Women serving in the Navy and the Marine Corps had significantly higher rates (11.5 percent and 12.9 percent, respectively) than civilian women; rates among women in the Army and Air Force (6.3 percent in each) did not differ significantly from those of their civilian counterparts.

About the Author

NIH is the nation's medical research agency - making important medical discoveries that improve health and save lives. The National Institutes of Health (NIH), a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the primary Federal agency for conducting and supporting medical research.