Top 10 qualitative reasons for perceived change in alcohol use | ||||
Increase | Decrease | No change | ||
Predeployment | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 | Socialising with friends/family. No alcohol on ops/will miss it. Last chance for fun before tour. Might die/might be last chance. Worries about the tour. Stress. Enjoy life while you can. Worried about leaving family. Cohesion with colleagues. To relax/calm nerves. | Improve/maintain fitness/health. Not enough (less) time/too busy. Quality time with family. To wean off (cut down) alcohol intake. Don’t drink much anyway. To keep mind clear and focused. Job-related need to cut down. To prepare for deployment. Gone off drinking/lost interest in alcohol. Saving money. | Enjoy self/social reasons. Normal life/no need to change. Good time before we deploy. Don’t drink much anyway. Am not worried about the deployment. To relax. To moderate (control) behaviour. Job-related workload and stress. Lost interest/not concerned about intake. Too busy to drink more. |
During deployment | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 | Not had it in a while, miss it. Stress. Depressed. Drank on Rest and Recuperation (R&R). Work pressures. Didn’t drink much at home. Boredom. | Not allowed (policy). Affects professionalism and job performance. Dehydration and hot environment. Can live without it. Am missing it. Long work hours, lack of time. Can’t get hold of it (access). I don’t drink on tour. Positive health reasons. Don’t drink much anyway. | Rarely drink at home. Work hard, play hard. Access to alcohol in theatre. Because I can. To avoid boredom. Social aspects. Being on tour hasn’t affected me. I know my limits. |
Postdeployment | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 | Stress (general). Socialising more. Missed it/enjoy it. Boredom. To aid sleep. Fragile life, live to the max. To relax. I feel happier, fewer worries. To avoid thinking and feelings. Stress (work). | Don’t need it, don’t want it. For fitness and health. Family reasons (marries, new baby and so on). Lost the taste on tour. Cost (saving money, too expensive). In a new unit, current workload. Drank too much before tour. Have other activities. Personal issues (control stress). Not a big drinker. | Socialising. Back to normal, no change. Enjoy it. No need to drink more. Not a big drinker. Family reasons. To relax. Back to normal after initial binge. Because I can. Don’t think about how much I drink. |