https://aub.ie/MilitaryREACH-Blais2021

Blais, R. K., Hess, R. A., & Serang, S. (2021). The buffering role of higher romantic relationship satisfaction on the association of hazardous drinking with PTSD and depression symptoms among female military service members/veterans. Addictive Behaviors, 123, 107081. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2021.107081

This study examined whether relationship satisfaction may weaken the negative effects of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depressive symptoms on hazardous drinking (i.e., consuming more than 4 drinks in a week) among a sample of 584 women Service members and Veterans. In addition, separate analyses were conducted for specific PTSD symptoms, such as negativity (i.e., negative thoughts and mood), and depressive symptoms, such as somatic symptoms (e.g., poor sleep or eating). In general, relationship satisfaction appeared to weaken the associations of PTSD symptoms and depressive symptoms with hazardous drinking.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2021.107081

Couples
Substance use
Trauma
Mental health

Multiple branches

Active Duty
Veteran

Active duty service member
Veteran

Adulthood (18 yrs & older)
Young adulthood (18 - 29 yrs)
Thirties (30 - 39 yrs)
Middle age (40 - 64 yrs)

Secondary Analysis
Cross sectional study
Quantitative Study

Blais, Rebecca K., Hess, Ryan A., Serang, Sarfaraz

Studies show that more positive relationship satisfaction can mitigate the effects of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression severity on hazardous drinking in military samples. However, past studies were not circumscribed to female service members/veterans (SM/V), who represent the fastest growing demographic in the military. Moreover, studies did not examine moderators of specific symptom clusters of PTSD and depression with hazardous drinking. Indeed, recent studies have shown that the more depressive and cognitive clusters are associated with greater dysfunction. The current study extended this literature in a convenience sample of 584 female SM/V who completed self-report measures of hazardous drinking, PTSD, depression, and relationship satisfaction. PTSD or depression severity, relationship satisfaction, and their interaction, were examined as correlates of hazardous drinking after accounting for relationship, demographic, and military characteristics. For both overall PTSD and depression severity, higher relationship satisfaction weakened their association with hazardous drinking. Such results were consistent when global scores were replaced with PTSD-related negative alterations in cognitions and mood and somatic depression symptom clusters, but not for PTSD-related dysphoric arousal, anhedonia, or non-somatic depression symptom clusters. Findings suggest that to lessen the association of PTSD or depressive symptoms with problematic drinking, interventions aimed at improving relationship satisfaction may be worth considering among women in relationships. Moreover, symptom cluster analyses show that the cognitive and depressive components of PTSD, as well as the physical symptoms of depression, are most problematic, pinpointing specific areas of function on which to intervene.

Elsevier

Article
REACH Publication

Utah State University, RKB
VA Northern Indiana Health Care System, RAH
Utah State University, SS