Heavy Drinking by One Partner Leads to Divorce: Study

If you want a lasting marriage then marry someone who matches your drinking habits.

A latest study by the University at Buffalo Research Institute on Addictions (RIA) found that couples with one partner involved in heavy drinking tend to divorce.

For the study, the researchers surveyed 634 couples from the time of their wedding to their first nine years together. "Our results indicate that it is the difference between the couple's drinking habits, rather than the drinking itself that leads to marital dissatisfaction, separation and divorce" said Kenneth Leonard, PhD, RIA director and lead author of the study in a press release.

Only 30 percent of the couples who matched each others' drinking habits divorced. But nearly 50 percent of the couples with only one heavy drinking partner divorced.

The researchers also stated that they found divorce rates slightly higher if wives were heavy drinkers compared to their husbands. But Leonard said that these rates were based on few couples in which wives were heavy drinkers. The researchers also said that the rate of divorce among couples where wives drink more might be more due to socio-cultural factors where society is less tolerant of women with such habits.

 "This research provides solid evidence to bolster the commonplace notion that heavy drinking by one partner can lead to divorce," Leonard said. "Although some people might think that's a likely outcome, there was surprisingly little data to back up that claim until now."

The researchers said that the findings are important as they might find new treatment methods for couples in crisis as well as substance abuse. "Ultimately, we hope our findings will be helpful to marriage therapists and mental health practitioners who can explore whether a difference in drinking habits is causing conflicts between couples seeking help," Leonard said.

The study will be published in the December issue of the journal Psychology of Addictive Behaviors.