Citation

Short NA, Allan NP, Oglesby ME, Moradi S, Schmidt NB, Stecker T. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2019; 199: 35-41.

Affiliation

College of Nursing, Medical University of South Carolina, 99 Jonathan Lucas St, Charleston, SC, 29425, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2019.02.018

PMID

30981047

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Despite evidence that insomnia symptoms exacerbate alcohol use disorder symptoms, there is a dearth of prospective research testing bidirectional associations between these variables. Furthermore, no studies have prospectively examined these associations among military personnel, a vulnerable population for sleep- and alcohol-related problems. Thus, the current study examined whether insomnia symptoms prospectively predicted increased alcohol use disorder symptoms among a sample of military service members and veterans over a 6-month follow-up period, as well as whether alcohol use disorder symptoms led to increases in insomnia.

METHOD: Hypotheses were tested among a sample of 274 current and past military service members who participated in a baseline and 6-month assessment using self-report measures.

RESULTS: Path analyses revealed that insomnia symptoms significantly prospectively predicted increased month-6 heavy drinking and alcohol-related problems, but not days drinking or being bothered by drinking. None of the alcohol variables significantly predicted insomnia.

CONCLUSION: Results support a model in which insomnia symptoms exacerbate alcohol use disorder symptoms, specifically heavy drinking and alcohol-related problems. Future research should seek to examine these findings in diverse populations and test potential mechanisms and clinical implications of these results.

Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Language: en

Keywords

Alcohol; Drinking; Insomnia; Military; Sleep; Veterans