Effects of a Web-Based Intervention in Reducing Drinking Among Concerned Partners of Military Service Members and Veterans

Military personnel and their partners report greater alcohol use and related problems compared to their civilian counterparts. We designed a web-based intervention (WBI) called Partners Connect individualized for a military spouse or partner concerned about their service member/veteran's (SMV) drinking and conducted a secondary data analysis to examine the effect of the WBI on participant drinking and their perceptions of their SMV partner's drinking. Participants were concerned partners (CPs) recruited through social media and randomized to Partners Connect or waitlist control. They completed online surveys at baseline and 3 months postintervention. CPs who reported any past-month drinking were included in the current analyses, n = 161; 94.4% female, 77% White, 5% Hispanic, 32.0 (SD = 6.5) years old. There was no significant effect of the intervention on CP drinking. However, the intervention effect was moderated by CP drinks per week, such that heavier drinking intervention CPs reported significant reductions in their number of drinking days at follow-up. Heavy drinking CPs who reduced their drinking also reported perceived reductions in SMV drinking. Military spouses and partners participated in Partners Connect out of concern for their SMV partner's drinking. In doing so, heavier drinking CPs reduced their own drinking frequency, which was also associated with perceptions of SMV drinking.

Automated summary

Military personnel and their partners report higher alcohol use and related issues compared to civilians. The web-based intervention, Partners Connect, had a significant impact on heavier drinking CPs, resulting in reduced drinking frequency and improved perceptions of their SMV partner's drinking behavior.