Some US military service members who have never been deployed experience negative emotions related to never having been deployed, and some work shows these non-deployment emotions (NDE) are cross-sectionally associated with hazardous drinking for male, but not female, US Army Reserve/National Guard (USAR/NG) soldiers. However, it is not known if these effects extend to drug use or persist longitudinally, which is the focus of the current study. We conducted a longitudinal residual change analysis of a subset of data (N = 182 never-deployed soldiers) from Operation: SAFETY, an ongoing survey-based study of USAR/NG soldiers recruited from units across New York State. Outcome measures included current tobacco use, non-medical use of prescription drugs (NMUPD), current cannabis use, and other current illicit drug use (excluding cannabis) at four time points over a 3-year period. Results from bootstrapped residual change generalized estimating equation (GEE) models show that more negative NDE were longitudinally associated with a greater likelihood of current NMUPD among male, but not female, soldiers (p < 0.05). NDE were not longitudinally associated with current tobacco use, cannabis use, or other illicit drug use among male or female soldiers (ps > 0.05). NDE may contribute to ongoing NMUPD among male USAR/NG soldiers who have never been deployed. Never-deployed soldiers, especially those with negative emotions related to never having been deployed, should not be overlooked in military screening and intervention efforts.
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Drug use over time among never-deployed US Army Reserve and National Guard soldiers: The longitudinal effects of non-deployment emotions and sex
APA Citation:
Hoopsick, R. A., Homish, D. L., Lawson, S. C., & Homish, G. G. (2022). Drug use over time among never-deployed US Army Reserve and National Guard soldiers: The longitudinal effects of non-deployment emotions and sex. Stress & Health, 38(5), 1045-1057. https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.3156
Focus:
Substance use
Deployment
Couples
Branch of Service:
Army
Military Affiliation:
Reserve
Guard
Population:
Young adulthood (18 - 29 yrs)
Adulthood (18 yrs & older)
Thirties (30 - 39 yrs)
Middle age (40 - 64 yrs)
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Research & Summary
Hoopsick, Rachel A.; Homish, D. Lynn; Lawson, Schuyler C.; Homish, Gregory G.
2022
Resilience to mental health problems and the role of deployment status among U.S. Army Reserve and National Guard soldiers
APA Citation:
Hoopsick, R. A., Homish, D. L., Collins, R. L., Nochajski, T. H., Read, J. P., Bartone, P. T., & Homish, G. G. (2021). Resilience to mental health problems and the role of deployment status among U.S. Army Reserve and National Guard soldiers. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 56, 1299-1310. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-020-01899-5
Focus:
Deployment
Mental health
Branch of Service:
Army
Population:
Adulthood (18 yrs & older)
Young adulthood (18 - 29 yrs)
Thirties (30 - 39 yrs)
Middle age (40 - 64 yrs)
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Research & Summary
Hoopsick, Rachel A.; Homish, D. Lynn; Collins, R. Lorraine; Nochajski, Thomas H.; Read, Jennifer P.; Bartone, Paul T.; Homish, Gregory G.
2021
Purpose Research suggests that interpersonal and intrapersonal resiliency factors protect against poor post-deployment mental health outcomes among Reserve/Guard soldiers who have been deployed. There is increasing awareness that never-deployed soldiers are also at risk. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between resiliency factors and a range of mental health outcomes among a sample of United States Army Reserve and National Guard (USAR/NG) soldiers who have and have not experienced deployment. Methods A subset of data was drawn from Operation: SAFETY (N = 360), an ongoing study examining the health and well-being of USAR/NG soldiers. We used a multivariate path analysis approach to examine the simultaneous effects of unit support, marital satisfaction, and psychological hardiness on the following mental health outcomes, concurrently: anger, anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology. We also examined interaction effects between resiliency factors and deployment status on mental health outcomes. Results Greater unit support (ps < 0.01), marital satisfaction (ps < 0.001), and psychological hardiness (ps < 0.001) were associated with less anger, anxiety, depression, and PTSD symptomatology. Psychological hardiness had significant interactions with deployment status on anxiety, depression, and PTSD, such that the protective effects of psychological hardiness were even stronger among never-deployed soldiers than previously deployed solders. Conclusion Resiliency factors can be targeted for intervention to prevent poor mental health outcomes among USAR/NG soldiers, regardless of deployment status. Further, psychological hardiness may be an even more important protective factor among soldiers who have never been deployed.
Combat exposure, emotional and physical role limitations, and substance use among male United States Army Reserve and National Guard soldiers
APA Citation:
Hoopsick, R. A., Vest, B. M., Homish, D. L., & Homish, G. G. (2018). Combat exposure, emotional and physical role limitations, and substance use among male United States Army Reserve and National Guard soldiers. Quality of Life Research, 27, 137–147. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11136-017-1706-2
Focus:
Deployment
Mental health
Substance use
Branch of Service:
Army
Military Affiliation:
Guard
Reserve
Population:
Adulthood (18 yrs & older)
Young adulthood (18 - 29 yrs)
Thirties (30 - 39 yrs)
Middle age (40 - 64 yrs)
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Research & Summary
Hoopsick, R. A.; Vest, B. M.; Homish, D. L.; Homish, G. G.
2018
Purpose: Combat-exposed soldiers are at an increased risk for health problems that diminish quality of life (QOL) and substance use. We explored the cross-sectional associations between combat exposure and two measures of QOL, and the effect of substance use on those associations. Methods: Data are from the baseline wave of Operation: SAFETY, an ongoing survey-based study of United States Army Reserve/National Guard (USAR/NG) soldiers and their partners. Our sample consisted of male USAR/NG soldiers with a history of deployment (N = 248). Limitations in usual activity due to physical and emotional problems were assessed using the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36). Results: Greater combat exposure was independently associated with limitations in usual activity due to physical (regression coefficient = −0.35, 95% CI −0.55 to −0.16, R 2 = 0.09; p < 0.01) and emotional (regression coefficient = −0.32, 95% CI −0.56 to −0.09, R 2 = 0.09; p < 0.01) problems. Combat exposure had a significant interaction with frequent heavy drinking on physical role limitations (regression coefficient = −0.65, 95% CI −1.18 to −0.12, R 2 = 0.12; p < 0.05) and emotional role limitations (regression coefficient = −0.83, 95% CI −1.46 to −0.19, R 2 = 0.12; p < 0.05). Combat exposure also had a significant interaction with lifetime non-medical use of prescription drugs on physical role limitations (regression coefficient = 0.81, 95% CI 0.18–1.45, R 2 = 0.11; p < 0.05). Conclusion: Combat is an unmodifiable risk factor for poor QOL among soldiers; however, frequent heavy drinking and non-medical use of prescription drugs modifies the relationship between combat exposure and QOL. Therefore, substance use is a potential point of intervention to improve QOL among soldiers.
The impact of military service and traumatic brain injury on the substance use norms of Army Reserve and National Guard Soldiers and their spouses
APA Citation:
Devonish, J. A., Homish, D. L., Vest, B. M., Daws, R. C., Hoopsick, R. A., & Homish, G. G. (2017). The impact of military service and traumatic brain injury on the substance use norms of Army Reserve and National Guard Soldiers and their spouses. Addictive Behaviors, 72, 51-56. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2017.03.012
Focus:
Mental health
Physical health
Substance use
Trauma
Branch of Service:
Army
Multiple branches
Military Affiliation:
Reserve
Guard
Population:
Adulthood (18 yrs & older)
Young adulthood (18 - 29 yrs)
Thirties (30 - 39 yrs)
Middle age (40 - 64 yrs)
Share the article
Research & Summary
Devonish, J. A.; Homish, D. L.; Vest, B. M.; Daws, R. C.; Hoopsick, R. A.; Homish, G. G.
2017
Introduction Traumatic brain injury (TBI) and substance use are highly prevalent conditions among military populations. There is a significant body of evidence that suggests greater approval of substance use (i.e., norms) is related to increased substance use. The objective of this work is to understand the impact of TBI and military service on substance use norms of soldiers and their partners. Data are from the baseline assessment of Operation: SAFETY, an ongoing, longitudinal study of US Army Reserve/National Guard (USAR/NG) soldiers and their partners. Methods Multiple regression models examined associations between alcohol, tobacco, illicit drug use, and non-medical use of prescription drug (NMUPD) norms within and across partners based on current military status (CMS) and TBI. Results Male USAR/NG soldiers disapproved of NMUPD, illicit drug use and tobacco use. There was no relation between military status and alcohol use. Among females, there was no relation between CMS and norms. The NMUPD norms of wives were more likely to be approving if their husbands reported TBI symptoms and had separated from the military. Husbands of soldiers who separated from the military with TBI had greater approval of the use of tobacco, NMUPD, and illicit drugs. Conclusion Overall, there is evidence to suggest that, while generally disapproving of substance use, soldiers and partners become more accepting of use if they also experience TBI and separate from the military. Future research should examine the longitudinal influence of TBI on substance use norms and subsequent changes in substance use over time.
