{"id":76888,"date":"2023-10-26T18:04:20","date_gmt":"2023-10-26T18:04:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/10\/26\/binge-drinking-alcohol-abuse-remains-significant-challenge-for-vets\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T15:06:18","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T15:06:18","slug":"binge-drinking-alcohol-abuse-remains-significant-challenge-for-vets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2023\/10\/26\/binge-drinking-alcohol-abuse-remains-significant-challenge-for-vets\/","title":{"rendered":"Binge drinking, alcohol abuse remains significant challenge for vets"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Veterans of every age group are more likely to binge drink or abuse alcohol<\/a> than Americans who never served, but are also slightly more open to seeking help for those problems than their civilian peers, according to new research released this week by the RAND corporation<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The findings from the RAND Epstein Family Veterans Policy Research Institute<\/a> follow past studies of high rates of alcohol abuse in the military<\/a>, indicating those problems do not end when troops leave the ranks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Researchers did not find similar problems with other potential substance abuse issues. According to federal data, the rate of illicit drug use, opioid misuse, marijuana abuse<\/a> or any drug use disorder was roughly the same for veterans and non-veterans in recent years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But alcohol abuse<\/a> remains a particular problem point for the veterans community. Researchers found nearly 23% of veterans surveyed in federal studies reported binge drinking \u2014 four or more drinks in a day for women and five or more drinks in a day for men \u2014 in the last month, and about 5% reported having an alcohol use disorder.<\/p>\n\n\n\t