TY - JOUR
T1 - Partner Effects
T2 - Analyzing Service Member and Spouse Drinking Over Time
AU - Joneydi, Rayan
AU - Sparks, Alicia C.
AU - Kolenikov, Stas
AU - Jacobson, Isabel G.
AU - Knobloch, Leanne K.
AU - Williams, Christianna S.
AU - Pflieger, Jacqueline C.
AU - Corry, Nida H.
AU - Stander, Valerie A.
N1 - The authors thank the other contributing members of the Millennium Cohort Family Study Team from Abt Associates (Danielle Hunt, PhD, and Dana Maglic, MS) as well as contributing members of the Millennium Cohort Family Study Team from the Naval Health Research Center (Isabel Altarejos, MPH; Lauren Bauer, MPH; Beth Birenbaum, MPH; Sarah Carinio, BS; Alex Esquivel, MPH; Hope McMaster, PhD; Travis Ray, PhD; Sabrina Richardson, PhD; Karen Tannenbaum, MA; and Kelly Woodall, MPH). In addition, the authors express their gratitude to the Family Study participants, without whom this study would not be possible. I am a military service member or employee of the U.S. Government. This work was prepared as part of my official duties. Title 17, U.S.C. §105 provides that copyright protection under this title is not available for any work of the U.S. Government. Title 17, U.S.C. §101 defines U.S. Government work as work prepared by a military service member or employee of the U.S. Government as part of that person's official duties. Report Number 22-60 was supported by the Military Operational Medicine Research Program, Defense Health Agency, under work unit Number N1240. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Navy, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government. The study protocol was approved by the Naval Health Research Center IRB in compliance with all applicable Federal regulations governing the protection of human subjects. Research data were derived from an approved Naval Health Research Center IRB protocol (Number NHRC.2015.0019). No financial disclosures were reported by the authors of this paper. Rayan Joneydi: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Methodology, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. Alicia C. Sparks: Conceptualization, Project administration, Supervision, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. Stas Kolenikov: Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Methodology, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. Isabel G. Jacobson: Conceptualization, Writing – review & editing. Leanne K. Knobloch: Conceptualization, Writing – review & editing. Christianna S. Williams: Conceptualization, Data curation, Writing – review & editing. Jacqueline C. Pflieger: Conceptualization, Writing – review & editing. Nida H. Corry: Conceptualization, Writing – review & editing. Valerie A. Stander: Conceptualization, Investigation, Writing – review & editing.
I am a military service member or employee of the U.S. Government. This work was prepared as part of my official duties. Title 17, U.S.C. §105 provides that copyright protection under this title is not available for any work of the U.S. Government. Title 17, U.S.C. §101 defines U.S. Government work as work prepared by a military service member or employee of the U.S. Government as part of that person's official duties. Report Number 22-60 was supported by the Military Operational Medicine Research Program, Defense Health Agency, under work unit Number N1240. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Navy, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government. The study protocol was approved by the Naval Health Research Center IRB in compliance with all applicable Federal regulations governing the protection of human subjects. Research data were derived from an approved Naval Health Research Center IRB protocol (Number NHRC.2015.0019).
PY - 2023/10
Y1 - 2023/10
N2 - Introduction: Excessive alcohol use is a significant problem in the military. Although there is a growing emphasis on family-centered alcohol prevention approaches, little is known about the interplay between partners’ drinking behaviors. This study examines how service members and their spouses influence each other's drinking behavior over time and explores the complex individual, interpersonal, and organizational factors that may contribute to alcohol use. Methods: A sample of 3,200 couples from the Millennium Cohort Family Study was surveyed at baseline (2011–2013) and follow-up (2014–2016). The research team estimated how much partners’ drinking behaviors influenced one another from baseline to follow-up using a longitudinal structural equation modeling approach. Data analyses were conducted in 2021 and 2022. Results: Drinking patterns converged between spouses from baseline to follow-up. Participants’ own baseline drinking had a small but significant effect on changes in their partners’ drinking from baseline to follow-up. Results from a Monte Carlo simulation showed that the longitudinal model could reliably estimate this partner effect in the presence of several potential sources of bias, including partner selection. The model also identified several common risk and protective factors for drinking shared by both service members and their spouses. Conclusions: Findings suggest that changing the drinking habits of one spouse could lead to a change in the drinking habits of the other, which supports family-centered alcohol prevention approaches in the military. Dual-military couples especially may benefit from targeted interventions because they face a higher risk of unhealthy alcohol consumption.
AB - Introduction: Excessive alcohol use is a significant problem in the military. Although there is a growing emphasis on family-centered alcohol prevention approaches, little is known about the interplay between partners’ drinking behaviors. This study examines how service members and their spouses influence each other's drinking behavior over time and explores the complex individual, interpersonal, and organizational factors that may contribute to alcohol use. Methods: A sample of 3,200 couples from the Millennium Cohort Family Study was surveyed at baseline (2011–2013) and follow-up (2014–2016). The research team estimated how much partners’ drinking behaviors influenced one another from baseline to follow-up using a longitudinal structural equation modeling approach. Data analyses were conducted in 2021 and 2022. Results: Drinking patterns converged between spouses from baseline to follow-up. Participants’ own baseline drinking had a small but significant effect on changes in their partners’ drinking from baseline to follow-up. Results from a Monte Carlo simulation showed that the longitudinal model could reliably estimate this partner effect in the presence of several potential sources of bias, including partner selection. The model also identified several common risk and protective factors for drinking shared by both service members and their spouses. Conclusions: Findings suggest that changing the drinking habits of one spouse could lead to a change in the drinking habits of the other, which supports family-centered alcohol prevention approaches in the military. Dual-military couples especially may benefit from targeted interventions because they face a higher risk of unhealthy alcohol consumption.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.amepre.2023.04.002
DO - 10.1016/j.amepre.2023.04.002
M3 - Article
C2 - 37059344
AN - SCOPUS:85159171279
SN - 0749-3797
VL - 65
SP - 627
EP - 639
JO - American Journal of Preventive Medicine
JF - American Journal of Preventive Medicine
IS - 4
ER -