Associations between alcohol use expectancies and drinking problems among French soldiers

International audienceAIMS: The aim of the study was to evaluate which alcohol use expectancies could predict harmful use in the French Army to explore some hypotheses concerning socialising or coping effects. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey, using self-administered questionnaires, was conducted in two Army units in 2011 (n = 249). Hazardous alcohol use and dependence were screened using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Alcohol expectancies were measured with the Alcohol Effects Questionnaire (AEFQ). A cluster analysis was performed to identify AEFQ dimensions in our sample. Relationships between AUDIT and AEFQ were explored using multinomial logistic regression. RESULTS: According to AUDIT, 46.6% of soldiers used alcohol without hazard, 26.1% had hazardous use without dependence and 18.1% had use with dependence. The AEFQ had an adequate internal coherence with a 0.78 α coefficient. The scales identified by the cluster analysis in our sample fitted those retained in the originally validated AEFQ, with a correspondence ranging from 60% to 100%. In multivariate analysis, the scale " Social and physical pleasure " was associated with increasing hazardous use and subjects who scored higher on " Global positive " and " Social and physical pleasure " scales were more at risk of dependence. CONCLUSION: The present study, in line with previous research in terms of importance of alcohol use disorders among military personnel, found that alcohol use expect-ancies are associated with alcohol misuse among soldiers. This could suggest underlying coping mechanisms towards stress that have to be further explored