Veteran News: Research Into Veterans' Substance Misuse
Summary:
Reasons why veterans with substance misuse have difficulty in seeking and engaging with help have been identified in new research by Northumbria University, Newcastle.
Article
Funded by the Royal British Legion, the research shows that for those veterans who took part in the study, excessive alcohol consumption was the norm during their service career and that they did not recognise it as an issue or accept that their alcohol consumption was excessive.
This perception, and their relationship with alcohol, resulted in the veterans delaying their engagement with meaningful help and support by which time, and in all cases, the veterans had very complex issues.
The 18 month research project, carried out by The Northern Hub for Veterans and Military Families' Research at Northumbria, found that it took on average 18 years for a veteran with substance misuse (primarily alcohol related) to engage with meaningful help. In all cases in the study this was not just alcohol in isolation and only when they had serious and multiple issues such as mental or physical health and/or social problems. Three quarters of those in the study who sought support only did so when they became homeless and 15% when going through the criminal justice system.
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