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. 2023;14(2):2282020.
doi: 10.1080/20008066.2023.2282020. Epub 2023 Nov 27.

Alcohol-involved sexual assault in the US military: a scoping review

Erin L Miggantz  1   2 , Lindsay M Orchowski  3 , Jessica L Beltran  1   2 , Kristen H Walter  2 , Julia C Hollingsworth  1   2 , Kelly Cue Davis  4 , Zoe Y Zong  3 , Richard Meza-Lopez  3 , Anna Hutchins  5 , Amanda K Gilmore  5
Affiliations

Alcohol-involved sexual assault in the US military: a scoping review

Erin L Miggantz et al. Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2023.

Abstract
in English, Spanish, Chinese

Background: Sexual assault and alcohol use are significant public health concerns, including for the United States (US) military. Although alcohol is a risk factor for military sexual assault (MSA), research on the extent of alcohol-involvement in MSAs has not been synthesised.Objective: Accordingly, this scoping review is a preliminary step in evaluating the existing literature on alcohol-involved MSAs among US service members and veterans, with the goals of quantifying the prevalence of alcohol-involved MSA, examining differences in victim versus perpetrator alcohol consumption, and identifying additional knowledge gaps.Method: In accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines for Scoping Reviews, articles in this review were written in English, published in 1996 or later, reported statistics regarding alcohol-involved MSA, and included samples of US service members or veterans who experienced MSA during military service.Results: A total of 34 of 2436 articles identified met inclusion criteria. Studies often measured alcohol and drug use together. Rates of reported MSAs that involved the use of alcohol or alcohol/drugs ranged from 14% to 66.1% (M = 36.94%; Mdn = 37%) among servicemen and from 0% to 83% (M = 40.27%; Mdn = 41%) among servicewomen. Alcohol use was frequently reported in MSAs, and there is a dearth of information on critical event-level characteristics of alcohol-involved MSA. Additionally, studies used different definitions and measures of MSA and alcohol use, complicating comparisons across studies.Conclusion: The lack of event-level data, and inconsistencies in definitions, measures, and sexual assault timeframes across articles demonstrates that future research and data collection efforts require more event-level detail and consistent methodology to better understand the intersection of alcohol and MSA, which will ultimately inform MSA prevention and intervention efforts.

Antecedentes: La agresión sexual y el consumo de alcohol son importantes preocupaciones de salud pública, incluso para el ejército de los Estados Unidos (EE. UU.). Aunque el alcohol es un factor de riesgo de agresión sexual militar (MSA, por sus siglas en inglés), no se han sintetizado investigaciones sobre el alcance de la participación del alcohol en las MSA.

Objetivo: En consecuencia, esta revisión de alcance es un paso preliminar en la evaluación de la literatura existente sobre MSA relacionadas con el alcohol entre miembros del servicio militar y veteranos de los EE. UU., con el objetivo de cuantificar la prevalencia de MSA relacionadas con el alcohol, examinando las diferencias en el consumo de alcohol entre víctimas y perpetradores e identificar lagunas de conocimiento adicionales.

Método: De acuerdo con los Elementos de Informes Preferidos para Revisiones Sistemáticas y las pautas de metaanálisis para revisiones de alcance, los artículos de esta revisión se escribieron en inglés, se publicaron en 1996 o después, informaron estadísticas sobre MSA relacionada con el alcohol e incluyeron muestras de miembros del servicio militar estadounidense o veteranos que experimentaron MSA durante el servicio militar.

Resultados: Un total de 34 de 2.436 artículos identificados cumplieron con los criterios de inclusión. Los estudios a menudo midieron el consumo de alcohol y drogas juntos. Las tasas de MSA reportadas que involucraron el uso de alcohol o alcohol/drogas oscilaron entre 14% y 66,1% (M = 36,94%; Mdn = 37%) entre los militares y entre 0% y 83% (M = 40,27%; Mdn = 41). %) entre las mujeres militares. El consumo de alcohol se informó con frecuencia en las MSA y hay escasez de información sobre las características críticas a nivel de eventos de las MSA involucradas con el alcohol. Además, los estudios utilizaron diferentes definiciones y medidas de MSA y consumo de alcohol, lo que complica las comparaciones entre los estudios.

Conclusión: La falta de datos a nivel de evento y las inconsistencias en las definiciones, medidas y plazos de agresión sexual en todos los estudios demuestran que los esfuerzos futuros de investigación y recopilación de datos requieren más detalles a nivel de evento y una metodología más consistente para comprender mejor la intersección del alcohol y la MSA, que en última instancia informará los esfuerzos de prevención e intervención de MSA.

背景：性侵犯和酗酒是重大的公共卫生问题，包括美国军方。尽管酒精是军事性侵犯 (MSA) 的一个风险因素，但有关 MSA 中酒精参与程度的研究尚未综合。

目的：因此，本次范围综述是评估有关美国现役军人和退伍军人中与酒精有关的 MSA 的现有文献的初步步骤，旨在量化与酒精有关的 MSA 的流行率，考查受害者与肇事者饮酒量的差异， 并确定其他知识差距。

方法：根据范围界定综述的系统综述首选报告项目和元分析指南，本综述中的文章以英文撰写，发表于 1996 年或以后，报告了有关酒精相关 MSA 的统计数据，并包括美国军人样本或在服兵役期间经历过 MSA 的退伍军人。

结果：2,436 篇文章中共有 34篇符合纳入标准。研究经常同时测量酒精和药物的使用情况。据报道，军人中涉及使用酒精或酒精/药物的 MSA 比例为 14%–66.1%（M = 36.94%；Mdn = 37%），0%–83%（M = 40.27%；Mdn = 41） %）在女军人中。MSA 中经常报告饮酒情况，但缺乏有关酒精相关 MSA 的关键事件级特征的信息。此外，研究使用了不同的 MSA 和酒精使用定义和测量方法，使研究之间的比较变得复杂。

结论：事件级数据的缺乏，以及各文章中定义、测量和性侵犯时间范围的不一致表明，未来的研究和数据收集工作需要更多的事件级细节和更一致的方法，以更好地了解酒精和 MSA 的交叉点 ，这最终将为 MSA 预防和干预工作提供信息。

Keywords: Substance use; Uso de sustancias; miembros del servicio; revisión de alcance; scoping review; service members; sexual trauma; sexual violence; trauma sexual; violencia sexual; 性创伤; 性暴力; 服役成员; 物质使用; 范围界定综述.

Plain language summary

A total of 34 of 2436 articles identified met inclusion criteria. Studies often measured alcohol and drug use together. Rates of reported military sexual assaults that involved the use of alcohol or alcohol/drugs ranged from 14% to 66.1% (M = 36.94%; Mdn = 37%) among servicemen and from 0% to 83% (M = 40.27%; Mdn = 41%) among servicewomen.More precise prevalence estimates of the intersection between alcohol and military sexual assault were limited due to inconsistencies in the definitions of sexual assault and alcohol use, measures of sexual assault and alcohol use, and timeframe for reporting across studies.Future research should standardise the measures, definitions, and timeframes of sexual assault and alcohol-involvement to allow for a more precise estimation of alcohol-involved military sexual assault. Furthermore, event-level data is needed including amount and timeframe of alcohol consumption, relationship between victim and perpetrator, location of alcohol consumption and military sexual assault, and whether the assault was opportunistic or facilitated, to inform military sexual assault prevention and intervention efforts in the military.

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Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Article inclusion flow chart.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. References marked with an asterisk indicate studies included in the scoping review.
    1. Abbey, A., Zawacki, T., Buck, P. O., Clinton, A. M., & McAuslan, P. (2001). Alcohol and sexual assault. Alcohol Research & Health, 25(1), 43–51. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Abbey, A., Zawacki, T., Buck, P. O., Clinton, A. M., & McAuslan, P. (2004). Sexual assault and alcohol consumption: What do we know about their relationship and what types of research are still needed? Aggression and Violent Behavior, 9(3), 271–303. 10.1016/S1359-1789(03)00011-9 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Anderson, R. E., Holmes, S. C., Johnson, N. L., & Johnson, D. M. (2021). Analysis of a modification to the sexual experiences survey to assess intimate partner sexual violence. The Journal of Sex Research, 58(9), 1140–1150. 10.1080/00224499.2020.1766404 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Arksey, H., & O’Malley, L. (2005). Scoping studies: Towards a methodological framework. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 8(1), 19–32. 10.1080/1364557032000119616 - DOI

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