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Drinking motives and drinking behaviors in romantic couples: A longitudinal actor-partner interdependence model
Ivy-Lee L Kehayes1, Sean P Mackinnon1, Simon B Sherry1
1Department of Psychology and Neuroscience.
In romantic relationships, a partner's reasons for drinking, like social or enhancement motives, can influence your own alcohol consumption. Targeting both partners' drinking motives may help prevent excessive alcohol use.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Excessive alcohol consumption has detrimental physical and social effects.
- Individual drinking motives are linked to specific drinking outcomes.
- Romantic partners often influence each other's drinking behavior.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the partner effects of drinking motives within romantic couples.
- To examine how one partner's drinking motives predict the other's alcohol consumption.
- To explore the influence of social, enhancement, and coping-with-anxiety motives on drinking behavior in dyads.
Main Methods:
- A longitudinal study of 203 romantic couples over four weeks.
- Self-report questionnaires assessed weekly drinking and motives.
- Actor-partner interdependence models and multilevel path-analysis were used.
Main Results:
- Actor effects were significant for social and enhancement motives.
- Partners' social and enhancement motives predicted changes in drinking quantity.
- Partners' coping-with-anxiety motives predicted changes in drinking quantity.
- Partner motives influenced actor's motives, which in turn influenced drinking.
Conclusions:
- A partner's drinking motives significantly impact an individual's alcohol consumption quantity and frequency.
- Interventions should consider both partners' drinking motives in romantic dyads.
- Understanding relational drinking motive dynamics is crucial for preventing problematic alcohol use.
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