Drinking to Cope Mediates the Association between Dyadic Conflict and Drinking Behavior: A Study of Romantic Couples during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic spurred public health measures to reduce viral spread. Concurrently, increases in alcohol consumption and conflict in romantic partnerships were observed. Pre-pandemic research demonstrated a bidirectional association between couples' conflict and drinking. Recent research shows one's drinking motives (proximal predictors of drinking behavior) can influence another person's drinking in close relationships. It is possible that individuals are drinking to cope with distress following romantic conflict. The current study examined 348 cohabitating couples during the first lockdown in the spring of 2020. Our analyses examined coping motives as a mediator between dyadic conflict and drinking behavior using actor-partner interdependence models. Results showed that conflict was associated with greater reports of own drinking in gendered (distinguishable) and nongendered (indistinguishable) analyses through coping motives. Further, in mixed-gender couples, men partners' coping motives predicted less drinking in women, while women partners' coping motives predicted marginally more drinking in men. Partner effects may have been observed due to the increased romantic partner influence during the COVID-19 lockdown. While these results suggest that men's coping motives may be protective against women's drinking, more concerning possibilities are discussed. The importance of considering dyadic influences on drinking is highlighted; clinical and policy implications are identified.