The Role of Military Identity in Substance Use and Mental Health Outcomes among U.S. Army Reserve and National Guard Soldiers.

Autor: Vest BM; Department of Family Medicine, University at Buffalo., Hoopsick RA; Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign., Homish DL; Department of Community Health and Health Behavior, University at Buffalo., Homish GG; Department of Community Health and Health Behavior, University at Buffalo.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Military psychology : the official journal of the Division of Military Psychology, American Psychological Association [Mil Psychol] 2023; Vol. 35 (1), pp. 85-93. Date of Electronic Publication: 2022 Jun 07.
DOI: 10.1080/08995605.2022.2082812
Abstrakt: We investigated how military identity (i.e., veteran identity centrality, the extent to which military service is central to an individual's sense of self) relates to substance use and mental health among U.S. Army Reserve and National Guard (USAR/NG) soldiers. Data were drawn from Operation: SAFETY, a longitudinal survey study of USAR/NG soldiers. Regression models (n=413 soldiers) examined relationships between military identity and substance use (i.e., alcohol problems, past 3-months non-medical use of prescription drugs (NMUPD), illicit drug use, tobacco use), and mental health (i.e., generalized anxiety, anger, depression, PTSD), controlling for sex, race, age, education, years of military service, military status (current/former), and deployment (ever/never). In adjusted models, stronger military identity was not related to alcohol, illicit drug, or tobacco use, but was associated with past 3-months NMUPD (OR: 1.40, 95% CI: 1.12, 1.75, p<.01) and greater symptoms of anger (IRR: 1.02, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.03, p<.01), generalized anxiety (IRR: 1.05, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.10, p<.01), depression (IRR: 1.06, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.10, p<.01), and PTSD (IRR: 1.07, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.12, p<.01). Findings demonstrate the importance of military identity for health-related outcomes. NMUPD suggests potential self-medication and an avoidance of help-seeking, as admitting difficulties may conflict with military identity.
Competing Interests: Disclosure statement: The authors have no conflicts of interest to report related to this research.
Databáze: MEDLINE
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