Home Stresses Correlated to Alcoholism :Study

Research conducted by Columbia University says that a civilian life is stressful for soldiers with pressures of divorce, job loss, legal problems, children issues and much more and can lead to alcohol abuse.

The statistical study says in 2012, 6.8 percent of the population in the U.S. either depended upon or abused alcohol but within the reserve component soldiers, it was 14 percent, which is nearly the double of general public.

Researchers examined a group of 1,095 soldiers from the Ohio National Guard and followed them for three years after service and conducted telephonic interviews thrice to inquire about their alcohol use, the stress faced after returning from military life and stress related to military deployment.

The study concluded that 60 percent of the soldiers who responded had experienced trauma related to combat, 36 percent experienced civilian stress and 17 percent had faced sexual harassment during the deployment, says Medical News Today.

There was gradual decrease in the alcohol abuse after each interview .In the first interview 13 percent of the participants reported problems related alcohol abuse and dependence, the figure fell to 7 percent in the second interview and to 5 percent in the third round.

The higher rate of alcohol abuse and dependence was correlated with the experience of civilian stressors and sexual harassment .However, the combat-related and post-battle traumatic events were only marginally associated with these alcohol use disorders.

Magdalena Cerdá, lead investigator for the study, defines long-term mental health problems like alcohol use disorders "is having to deal with a lot of daily life difficulties that arise in the aftermath - when soldiers come home "and adds "The more traumatic events soldiers are exposed to during and after combat, the more problems they are likely to have in their daily life - in their relationships, in their jobs - when they come home. These problems can in turn aggravate mental health issues, such as problems with alcohol that arise during and after deployment."

The study was published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.