This study assessed the prevalence and psychosocial correlates of clinical
criteria-based diagnoses of nicotine dependence in men and women in the U.S
. naval services. Analyses were based on data from the 1995 Perceptions of
Wellness and Readiness Assessment, a population-based self-report survey of
9,856 active-duty Navy and Marine Corps members worldwide, specifically fo
cusing on a subsample of those who completed the telephone version of the Q
uick Diagnostic Interview Schedule (n = 782). Twenty-five percent of all te
lephone interview volunteers met diagnostic criteria for lifetime nicotine
dependence, and 15% met criteria for nicotine dependence in the last year.
There was no difference in nicotine dependence by job classification (tradi
tional vs, nontraditional) among women. Women who were abused prior to ente
ring the military were almost three times as likely to be nicotine dependen
t as those not abused. Men who had been exposed to combat or violence were
twice as likely to be nicotine dependent as those not exposed. Published by
Elsevier Science Ltd.