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Strain is an indivisible part of the military experience. Despite the well-documented association between strain and deviance in civilian settings, however, whether common forms of strain in the military produce deviant reactions among soldiers has yet to be established. In this study, we investigate the associations among various forms of strain and deviant behaviors among military service-members. Additionally, we examine the effects of mediating mechanisms linking strain to deviance through the lens of General Strain Theory (GST). We found that strain factors were all positively associated with each deviant behavior. Among the mediating factors, anger partially mediated the relationships between strain and all three deviant behaviors, while depression partially mediated only the relationship between strain and heavy alcohol use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A large body of empirical studies has shown that cigarette use has detrimental consequences. Along with its adverse health effects, it is also associated with negative outcomes for social institutions, including the military. Objectives: Utilizing a Social Learning Theory (SLT) framework, this study attempts to explore the associations among cigarette use and elements of social learning in a military setting, including differential association, differential reinforcement, and definitions favorable to smoking. Methods: We draw upon unique data from the Cadet Smoking Survey (CSS) conducted in 2015 at the Turkish Military Academy (n = 378), and utilize binary logistic regression as the analytic strategy. Results: The findings reveal that the smoking habits of fathers and peers, as well as cadets' own definitions that make smoking justifiable, were strong positive predictors of Turkish cadets being cigarette smokers. The links between smoking and parental reaction or peer reinforcement, however, were not robust. Conclusion/Importance: The results of this study partially support the assumptions in SLT and suggest that military units might serve as venues for facilitating learning regarding cigarette use. The implications, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed below. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]