Drinking as routine practice among re-integrating National Guard and Reservists from Arkansas

Active duty enlisted military personnel are more likely to misuse alcohol than civilians – a pattern which persists even after the transition to civilian life. We used in-depth, substance use history interviews to elicit drinking trajectories from 54 re-integrating Army National Guard, Air Force Res...

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Main Authors: Traci H. Abraham, Ann M. Cheney, Geoffrey M. Curran, Karen L. Drummond
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. 2020-10-01
Series:Qualitative Research in Medicine & Healthcare
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Online Access:https://www.pagepressjournals.org/index.php/qrmh/article/view/9001
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author Traci H. Abraham
Ann M. Cheney
Geoffrey M. Curran
Karen L. Drummond
author_facet Traci H. Abraham
Ann M. Cheney
Geoffrey M. Curran
Karen L. Drummond
author_sort Traci H. Abraham
collection DOAJ
description Active duty enlisted military personnel are more likely to misuse alcohol than civilians – a pattern which persists even after the transition to civilian life. We used in-depth, substance use history interviews to elicit drinking trajectories from 54 re-integrating Army National Guard, Air Force Reserve and Army Reserve personnel from Arkansas with a history of problematic substance use. A hybrid inductive-deductive analytic approach revealed institutional norms, shared beliefs about drinking, and social values and expectations among military peers present in the context of military service that Veterans described as having shaped their drinking trajectories. Framing Veterans’ narratives vis-à-vis practice theory revealed the complex processes by which excessive drinking was embodied as routine practice during military service and subsequently reproduced in a very different post-deployment context, often with deleterious results. Elucidating these implicit processes suggested pro-active strategies for preventing problematic drinking by active duty personnel and improving the re-integration experiences of Veterans.
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spelling doaj-art-32ea91be2ef442e8abaad59552e4bed32025-08-20T03:15:42ZengKeAi Communications Co., Ltd.Qualitative Research in Medicine & Healthcare2532-20442020-10-014210.4081/qrmh.2020.9001Drinking as routine practice among re-integrating National Guard and Reservists from ArkansasTraci H. Abraham0Ann M. Cheney1Geoffrey M. Curran2Karen L. Drummond3South Central Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC), Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System; Department of Psychiatry, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock,Department of Social Medicine & Population Health, Center for Healthy Communities, SOM, University of California, Riverside, CADepartment of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy and Division of Health Services Research, Department of Psychiatry, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences; Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System, North Little Rock, ARSouth Central Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC), Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System; Department of Psychiatry, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little RockActive duty enlisted military personnel are more likely to misuse alcohol than civilians – a pattern which persists even after the transition to civilian life. We used in-depth, substance use history interviews to elicit drinking trajectories from 54 re-integrating Army National Guard, Air Force Reserve and Army Reserve personnel from Arkansas with a history of problematic substance use. A hybrid inductive-deductive analytic approach revealed institutional norms, shared beliefs about drinking, and social values and expectations among military peers present in the context of military service that Veterans described as having shaped their drinking trajectories. Framing Veterans’ narratives vis-à-vis practice theory revealed the complex processes by which excessive drinking was embodied as routine practice during military service and subsequently reproduced in a very different post-deployment context, often with deleterious results. Elucidating these implicit processes suggested pro-active strategies for preventing problematic drinking by active duty personnel and improving the re-integration experiences of Veterans.https://www.pagepressjournals.org/index.php/qrmh/article/view/9001practice theorymilitary cultureveteransalcohol consumption
spellingShingle Traci H. Abraham
Ann M. Cheney
Geoffrey M. Curran
Karen L. Drummond
Drinking as routine practice among re-integrating National Guard and Reservists from Arkansas
Qualitative Research in Medicine & Healthcare
practice theory
military culture
veterans
alcohol consumption
title Drinking as routine practice among re-integrating National Guard and Reservists from Arkansas
title_full Drinking as routine practice among re-integrating National Guard and Reservists from Arkansas
title_fullStr Drinking as routine practice among re-integrating National Guard and Reservists from Arkansas
title_full_unstemmed Drinking as routine practice among re-integrating National Guard and Reservists from Arkansas
title_short Drinking as routine practice among re-integrating National Guard and Reservists from Arkansas
title_sort drinking as routine practice among re integrating national guard and reservists from arkansas
topic practice theory
military culture
veterans
alcohol consumption
url https://www.pagepressjournals.org/index.php/qrmh/article/view/9001
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AT geoffreymcurran drinkingasroutinepracticeamongreintegratingnationalguardandreservistsfromarkansas
AT karenldrummond drinkingasroutinepracticeamongreintegratingnationalguardandreservistsfromarkansas