The prevalence of antisocial behavior among U.S. Army DWI offenders

This study compares arrest records for three groups of male soldiers. The first group of 76 had been arrested for DWI, completed a 5-day, in-patient evaluation/education program and were subsequently re-arrested, all within the period from January 1985 through December 1987. The second group of 76 was composed of a random sample, matched by age and ethnicity who had completed the 5-day program following a DWI but had not been re-arrested. The third group was a control group of 76, matched by age and ethnicity, but with no record of DWI, who were randomly selected from the same military units as the initial two groups. Soldiers with one DWI had significantly more arrests than did soldiers in the control group; soldiers with two DWI arrests had significantly more arrests than either of the other groups. The data indicate that soldiers apprehended for DWI are more likely than non-arrestees to be arrested for a wide variety of antisocial behaviors.