Changing patterns of drug use among US military recruits before and after enlistment

• Published in: American journal of public health (1971) Vol. 89; no. 5; pp. 672 - 677
• Main Authors: Bachman, J G, Freedman-Doan, P, O'Malley, P M, Johnston, L D, Segal, D R
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC Am Public Health Assoc 01.05.1999; American Public Health Association
• Subjects: Addictive behaviors; Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Analysis of Variance; Armed forces; Biological and medical sciences; Changes; Cigarettes; Cocaine; Drug abuse; Drug addiction; Drug use; Educational Status; Employment; Factors; Female; Humans; Living arrangements; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Medical sciences; Military forces; Military personnel; Military Personnel - statistics & numerical data; Military service; Miscellaneous; Occupations - statistics & numerical data; Patterns; Population Surveillance; Prevalence; Prevention and actions; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Public health; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Recruitment; Residence Characteristics; Response rates; Secondary schools; Sex Distribution; Substance-Related Disorders - epidemiology; Substance-Related Disorders - prevention & control; Surveys and Questionnaires; Tobacco; Trends; United States - epidemiology; USA; Women; Zero tolerance; United States; North America; America; Human; Evaluation; Drug addiction; Prevalence; Illicit drug; Sex; Trend; Epidemiology; Public health; Military; Recruitment
• ISSN: 0090-0036; 1541-0048
• DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.89.5.672

The US armed forces adopted "zero tolerance" policies concerning illicit drug use in 1980 and later developed policies to discourage tobacco and alcohol abuse. This article examines drug use among young active-duty recruits both before and after enlistment, compared with nonmilitary age-mates, and documents historical shifts in such drug use across 2 decades. Analyses employed longitudinal panel data from 20 nationally representative samples of high school seniors (cohorts of 1976-1995), each surveyed just before graduation and again within 2 years. Separate analyses for men (n = 12,082) and women (n = 15,345) contrasted those who entered military service, college, and civilian employment. Illicit drug use declined more among young military recruits than among their civilian counterparts. Analyses of male recruits at multiple time periods showed (1) declines in the prevalence of marijuana use and cocaine use after the initiation of routine military drug testing and (2) lower proportions of smokers of half a pack or more of cigarettes per day who entered service after the initiation of tobacco bans during basic training. Recent military drug policies appear to deter illicit drug use among enlistees and discourage some smokers from enlisting.