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Relationship-specific alcohol expectancies in couples with concordant and discrepant drinking patterns
Jaye L Derrick1, Kenneth E Leonard, Brian M Quigley
1Research Institute on Addictions, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, 1021 Main Street, Buffalo, New York 14203-1016, USA. jderrick@ria.buffalo.edu
Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs
|August 25, 2010
Summary
Couples' alcohol expectancies differ based on drinking patterns. Wives' drinking status significantly impacts relationship expectancies more than husbands'.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Addiction Research
Background:
- Marital problems linked to heavy drinking are more severe when only one partner drinks heavily.
- Little research exists on factors maintaining specific couple drinking patterns.
Purpose of the Study:
- Examine the association between partners' drinking configurations and relationship-specific alcohol expectancies.
- Investigate how different drinking patterns within a couple influence their beliefs about alcohol's role in the relationship.
Main Methods:
- Prospective study of 251 couples categorized into four drinking groups: concordant heavy drinkers, heavy drinking husband, heavy drinking wife, and concordant abstainers/light drinkers.
- Couples completed a mail-in survey measuring relationship-specific alcohol expectancies.
Main Results:
- Wives in concordant heavy drinking couples reported higher intimacy/openness expectancies than other groups.
- Husbands reported higher intimacy/openness expectancies if either partner was a heavy drinker.
- Specific expectancies (sexual enhancement, power/assertion, social pleasure) were heightened when the wife was the heavy drinker.
Conclusions:
- Relationship-specific alcohol expectancies are significantly associated with the configuration of partners' drinking patterns.
- Wives' drinking status appears to exert a greater influence on these expectancies than husbands' status.
- Further research is necessary to understand the long-term implications of these findings.
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