Objective: Rates of hazardous alcohol consumption and co-occurring posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are high among returning combat veterans and may adversely affect satisfaction with life (SWL). Improving life satisfaction represents a potential secondary outcome of web-based interventions for alcohol use and PTSD. Understanding the relationship between intervention targets and SWL may help inform future interventions and provide clarity regarding how improvements are manifesting. We examined returning veterans enrolled in VetChange, an evidence-based web intervention for co-occurring alcohol use and PTSD, to determine changes in SWL over time and as a function of changes in alcohol consumption and PTSD symptoms.
Method: Participants included 222 returning veterans who reported hazardous drinking. Veterans engaged in a nationwide implementation of VetChange and completed measures of average weekly drinks (AWD), PTSD symptoms, and SWL at baseline, 1, 3, and 6 months. We investigated the effects of changes in PTSD and AWD between baseline and 1 month on SWL over 6 months using linear mixed-effects modeling.
Results: Across all veterans, SWL increased by 19% over 6 months. AWD and PTSD decreased between baseline and 1 month, but only change in PTSD predicted changes in SWL over the 6-month interval.
Conclusions: Reductions in PTSD symptoms within the first month of intervention use, and not reductions in drinking, predicted increased SWL over 6 months. SWL is an important marker for recovery and related quality of life, and an important assessment and intervention target of web-based interventions. Interventions may also target SWL, as improvements in SWL promote future recovery and sustained improvement. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).