Alcoholism in the Army: A Demographic Survey of an Inpatient Population

Abstract

SummaryOne hundred male admissions to the British Army's Alcohol Treatment Unit were interviewed, demographic data being compared with information on the whole army. Findings included a mean age of 29.2 years, arid high rates of marital breakdown, drunkenness offences, drinking and driving offences, poor work performance and abnormal liver Junction tests. The sample tended lo be older than their rank‐peers, were more likely to have enlisted after the age of twenty‐one years, had achieved less in terms of promotion, and were more likely to be serving in duty free areas. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Drugs and the Soldier

“…Future studies Readers interested in the subject of 'alcoholism in the Army' are referred to an article of the same title, which covers the demographic survey of those admitted for treatment to the Royal Victoria Hospital, Netley over a period up to 1977 7 • It is hoped to repeat this survey for more recent years, and to gain some idea of the outcome of inpatient treatment on the Alcoholic Treatment Unit at Queen Elizabeth Military Hospital, Woolwich. I also hope to survey the incidence of drug usage currently, and particularly in relation to pre-enlistment use, to discover whether any predictions of service behaviour can be correlated with it.…”