Evaluation of an Alcohol Misuse Prevention Program in a Military Population

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of an alcohol misuse prevention program on drinking behavior and alcohol-related problems among United States Marine Corps personnel. A total of 567 men from two Marine Corps infantry battalions participated in the evaluation in which members of one battalion received an alcohol misuse prevention program, while members of the second battalion served as controls. The program consisted of targeted, small-group training sessions, with corporals and sergeants training their subordinates. Subjects completed questionnaires on alcohol use behavior at baseline and at 3- and 6-months postintervention. Alcohol-related legal incidents, alcohol abuse counseling referrals, and other outcomes were measured in aggregate. This study found that there was a greater decrease in the percentage of some self-reported alcohol-related problems, including serious consequences resulting from alcohol and specifically in the inability to remember things that happened while drinking, not being able to stop drinking, and getting drunk from alcohol among the intervention group compared with the control group. There was a small decrease in the number of drinks per day at the 3-month follow-up and in the rate of counseling referrals among the intervention group. No differences were observed in the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test score, drinking days per month, or in the other outcomes. The results suggest that the alcohol reduction training program did not have a significant overall effect on drinking behavior, however, the program may have prompted a short-term decrease in drinking and affected some alcohol-related problems.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2003
Accession Number
ADA421218

Entities

People

  • Cynthia Simon-arndt
  • Edward M. Castillo
  • Marc A. Schuckit
  • Richard A. Schaffer
  • Suzanne L. Hurtado

Organizations

  • Naval Health Research Center

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Curriculum
  • Data Analysis
  • Data Science
  • Deployment
  • Education
  • Enlisted Personnel
  • Human Behavior
  • Information Science
  • Knowledge Management
  • Marine Corps
  • Marine Corps Personnel
  • Schools
  • Statistics
  • Surveys
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Training
  • Universities

Fields of Study

  • Medicine

Readers

  • Child and Adolescent Substance Abuse Science in Autism Spectrum Disorders.
  • Organizational Psychology.
  • Women's Health and Cancer Risk Research: African American Women and Pregnancy Outcomes.