Emerging adult (EA; aged 18–29) military members experience major career, life, and developmental transitions. The conglomeration of these changes may influence or exacerbate anxiety or stress, produce challenges, and lead to negative coping mechanisms, such as substance use. This study sought to understand the utility of the five Emerging Adulthood Theory (EAT) dimensions among a sample of military members and veterans with risky substance use. To our knowledge, the applicability of EAT has not been explored with United States military populations. During 2019, we completed 24 semi-structured interviews. On average, participants were 24.9 years old, male, white, and in the United States Marine Corps. We asked about experiences transitioning into adulthood, military culture, and experiences of the five EAT dimensions. Three coders employed rigorous theory-driven thematic analysis procedures to piece together themes. We report EA military members’ experiences with the EAT dimensions, focusing on nuances related to the influence of military culture.

新兴成人（EA；18-29 岁）军人经历重大的职业、生活和发展转变。这些变化的集合可能会影响或加剧焦虑或压力，产生挑战，并导致消极的应对机制，如物质使用。本研究旨在了解五个新兴成人理论 (EAT) 维度在具有危险物质使用风险的军人和退伍军人样本中的效用。据我们所知，尚未在美国军事人口中探索 EAT 的适用性。2019 年，我们完成了 24 次半结构化访谈。参与者平均年龄为 24.9 岁，男性，白人，在美国海军陆战队服役。我们询问了过渡到成年的经历、军事文化和五个 EAT 维度的经历。三位编码员采用严格的理论驱动的主题分析程序来拼凑主题。我们报告了 EA 军人在 EAT 维度方面的经历，重点关注与军事文化影响相关的细微差别。