Psychological Hardiness and Coping Style as Risk/Resilience Factors for Alcohol Abuse

Abstract

Alcohol abuse is a growing problem in the military, and a costly one. The present study evaluates the potential role of psychological hardiness, an individual resilience resource, to stress-related problem drinking in a military population. We assess the association of psychological hardiness and avoidance coping style with alcohol use patterns in a large national sample of Norwegian military defense personnel. Results show that low hardiness and high avoidance coping are significant predictors of alcohol abuse. Also, the challenge facet of hardiness predicts risk of alcohol abuse among respondents with recent deployment experience, and this effect is greater for those with harsh deployment experiences. Older defense workers are also at higher risk, suggesting cumulative occupational stress may take a toll. This research indicates that hardiness and avoidance coping measures may serve as useful adjunct screening tools for alcohol abuse in the military.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 01, 2012
Accession Number
ADA574480

Entities

People

  • Jarle Eid
  • John I. Brevik
  • Paul T. Bartone
  • Sigurd W. Hystad

Organizations

  • National Defense University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Engineered Resilient Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Anxiety Disorders
  • Deployment
  • Drug Abuse
  • Factor Analysis
  • Health Services
  • Human Behavior
  • Medical Personnel
  • Military Medicine
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Personnel
  • National Security
  • Persian Gulf Syndrome
  • Security
  • Students
  • Substance-Related Disorders
  • Surveys
  • Traumatic Stress Disorder

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