Alcohol Use Among Concerned Partners of Heavy Drinking Service Members and Veterans

Abstract

Heavy drinking in relationships is complex and we focus on an understudied sample of concerned partners (CPs) worried about their U.S. service member/veteran partner's drinking. We evaluated the link between CP drinking and their own mental health, and how CP drinking moderated the efficacy of a web-based intervention designed to address CPs' mental health and communication. CPs (N = 234) were randomly assigned to intervention or control and completed assessments at baseline and 5 months later. CP drinking was associated with greater CP depression, anxiety, and anger independent of partner drinking. Moreover, the intervention was more efficacious in reducing depression for heavy drinking CPs. CPs are often an overlooked population and resources to help support them are needed.

© 2017 American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.

Figures

Figure 1

Intervention effects on changes in depression moderated by concerned partner drinking levels, as measured by number of drinks per week. ** p < .01

Figure 2

Intervention effects on changes in depression moderated by concerned partner drinking levels, as measured by drinking frequency. ** p