Am J Psychiatry 1975; 132:11-16
Copyright © 1975 by American Psychiatric Association
Alcohol use in the Army: patterns and associated behaviors
JF Greden, SI Frenkel and DW Morgan
Neuropsychiatric Institute, University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor 48104.
The authors assessed by questionnaire the alcohol use of 1,873 U.S.
soldiers in the United States and Viet Nam. According to operational
definitions based on total ethyl alcohol consumption and several behaviors
associated with drinking, 7 percent were classed as alcoholics, 5 percent
as borderline alcoholics, and 24 percent as potential alcoholics. Contrary
to popular stereotypes, there was a disproportionate number of younger and
lower ranking soldiers in these three groups; there was also a positive
relationship between drinking and use of illicit drugs across groups. The
authors state that future studies of alcohol use should include
determinations of total ethyl alcohol intake to permit generalizability of
their results.
