Drug abuse, the U.S. Army Europe: women and substance abuse

Although numerous statistics on drug and alcohol abuse are kept by the U.S. Army Europe, several areas have not been studied. The authors obtained information on both current and past drug and alcohol use patterns from 96 female soldiers stationed at several locations in Germany. Results were compared to studies in the literature citing female use. Female soldiers showed use rates that were comparable or lower than those of civilian populations except for a slightly higher percentage who had "ever used" narcotics. Several explanations for the marked differences in relative male and female use in the military are discussed, with suggestions for future research.