Use of alcohol/other drugs to cope with stress was measured using the alcohol/drug use coping items from the Brief COPE (Carver, 1997). Participants indicated how often they “use alcohol or other drugs to make myself feel better” and “use alcohol or other drugs to help me get through it” on a scale from 0 (I don’t do this at all) to 3 (I’ve been doing this a lot), with total scores ranging from 0 to 6. This measure has been used in previous studies of military/Veteran coping (Romero et al., 2020), and the substance use subscale demonstrated strong internal consistency in this sample (α ≥.85). Between six and eight of every ten (or 60% to 80% of) Vietnam Veterans seeking PTSD treatment have alcohol use problems. Binge drinking is when a person drinks a lot of alcohol (4-5 drinks) in a short period of time (1-2 hours). Veterans over the age of 65 with PTSD are at higher risk for a suicide attempt if they also have drinking problems or depression.
Prolonged Exposure (PE)
- Specifically, participants indicated how often in the last year they were “unable to remember what happened the night before because you had been drinking.” Response options ranged from 0 (never) to 4 (daily or almost daily).
- Men with higher PTSD symptoms may have a higher level of impulsivity that leads to reckless behaviors such as risky alcohol use.
- Despite the burgeoning research on blackouts, few studies have examined blackouts among Veterans, and even fewer have included diverse samples (of Veterans or civilians).
Alcohol addiction dates back to ancient times, with historical records from Egypt and Mesopotamia depicting heavy consumption of beer and wine along with the problems caused by it. It was during middle age that doctors finally began to identify and treat addiction as a disease. Participants indicated Substance abuse if they identified as male, female, transgender, non-binary, other, or preferred not to respond. As noted in Table 1, only two participants chose an option other than male or female.
Poststress Alcohol Consumption
On a scale from 0 (not at all) to 4 (extremely), participants who previously reported experiencing a traumatic event in their lifetime rated how much they had been troubled by four symptoms of PTSD (e.g., “avoiding external reminders of the stressful experience”) in the last month. Responses of the four items were summed to create a total symptom =https://ecosoberhouse.com/ severity score (range 0–16), with scores ≥10 indicative of a positive screen for PTSD symptoms. The 4-item version of the PTSD Checklist has similar diagnostic utility when compared to the PCL-5 and has demonstrated validity in identifying symptoms of PTSD among adults and combat Veterans (Price et al., 2016).
Blackouts as a Moderator of Young Adult Veteran Response to Personalized Normative Feedback for Heavy Drinking
Participants provided the number of standard drinks (e.g., 12oz beer) that they consumed on each day of a typical week in the past month. Responses were summed across all days of the week to obtain an estimate of drinks consumed per week for each participant. Responses were also used to estimate the frequency of heavy episodic drinking (4/5+ drinks for women and men, respectively) and high-intensity drinking (8/10+ drinks for women/men) in a typical week in the past month. Exposure to an uncontrollable negative event elicits the familiar “fight-or-flight” response. In turn, CRH stimulates the release of proopiomelanocortin (POMC), a hormone that is divided into several components.
- Educating loved ones and the broader community about the nature of PTSD blackouts can help reduce stigma and improve support systems for those affected.
- As discussed in the papers presented in this virtual issue, this includes members of racial and ethnic communities as well as military service members and veterans.
- During flashbacks, the person might momentarily believe and act as if they were back at the time of the event, experiencing it again.
In adults, the rates for co-morbid PTSD and substance use disorders are two to three times higher for females than males, with 30 to 57 percent of all female substance abusers meeting the criteria for PTSD (Najavits et al. 1997). Women’s increased risk for co-morbid PTSD and substance dependence is related to their higher incidence of childhood physical and sexual abuse. For example, in a group of adolescents, a history of sexual abuse increased the risk of problem drinking to 20 times the normal rates of alcohol abuse for both sexes. However, females were much more likely to have been sexually abused than males and consequently the symptoms of PTSD were more common for female than male alcohol abusers (Clark et al. 1997). In the next section, two studies focus on the prevalence and correlates of AUD and PTSD in racial and ethnic minority communities.
Alcohol Use Problems Can Lead to Trauma and Problems in Relationships
Participants indicated (yes/no) if they had used cannabis, cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, inhalants, methamphetamine, stimulants, sedatives, or non-prescription drugs (pain relievers, benzodiazepines, or cough/cold medicines) in the past year. “Other drug use” was a dichotomous variable, coded “yes” for use of any of these drugs and “no” for none. Alcohol is dehydrating by nature, so making sure you’re drinking plenty of water and staying hydrated is important. Being aware of potential signs of intoxication can also be helpful in understanding your limitations. Ms. Tripp, Dr. McDevitt-Murphy, Ms. Avery, and Dr. Bracken report no financial relationship ptsd alcohol blackout with commercial interests and, outside of the listed affiliations and acknowledged grant funding, we have no additional income to report. Within the past three years, Ms. Tripp has been employed by the University of Memphis and Department of Veterans Affairs.
