Illicit drug use and marital satisfaction

Area of Science:

• Social Psychology
• Sociology
• Criminology

Background:

• Adults often decrease socially disapproved behaviors, like drug use, upon assuming adult social roles, such as marriage.
• Marriage represents a significant life transition impacting individual behaviors and relationship dynamics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate patterns of illicit drug use among adults during the transition into and early years of marriage.
• To determine if couples with differing drug use behaviors (discrepant use) experience greater declines in marital satisfaction.

Main Methods:

• Utilized multilevel regression models to analyze data from 634 couples over the first four years of marriage.
• Examined self-reported illicit drug use and marital satisfaction levels within couples.

Main Results:

• Illicit drug use rates decreased over the four years, yet remained prevalent (21% of husbands, 16% of wives).
• Couples with discrepant drug use reported lower marital satisfaction at the marriage transition.
• All couples experienced significant declines in marital satisfaction over the study period.

Conclusions:

• While marriage may reduce illicit drug use, continued use and partner discrepancies are notable.
• Discrepant drug use presents a challenge to marital satisfaction early in marriage.
• Marital satisfaction tends to decline for all couples in the initial years of marriage, regardless of drug use patterns.