Journal article
Is marriage a buzzkill? A twin study of marital status and alcohol consumption
Journal of family psychology, Vol.30(6), pp.698-707
09/2016
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/105367
PMCID: PMC5014643
PMID: 27336180
Abstract
Married adults have consistently been found to drink less than their single or divorced counterparts. This correlation may not be causal, however, as people nonrandomly "select" into marriage and into alcohol use. The current study uses a sample of 2,425 same-sex twin pairs (1,703 MZ; 722 DZ) to control for genetic and shared environmental selection, thereby eliminating a great many third variable, alternative explanations to the hypothesis that marriage causes less drinking. Married twins were compared with their single, divorced, and cohabiting cotwins on drinking frequency and quantity. Married cotwins consumed fewer alcoholic beverages than their single or divorced cotwins, and drank less frequently than their single cotwins. Alcohol use patterns did not differ among married and cohabiting twins. These findings provide strong evidence that intimate relationships cause a decline in alcohol consumption. (PsycINFO Database Record
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Details
- Title
- Is marriage a buzzkill? A twin study of marital status and alcohol consumption
- Creators
- Diana Dinescu - Department of Psychology, University of VirginiaEric Turkheimer - Department of Psychology, University of VirginiaChristopher R Beam - Department of Psychology & Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern CaliforniaErin E Horn - Department of Psychology, University of VirginiaGlen Duncan - Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, Nutrition & Exercise Physiology Program, Washington State University - Health SciencesRobert E Emery - Department of Psychology, University of Virginia
- Publication Details
- Journal of family psychology, Vol.30(6), pp.698-707
- Academic Unit
- Nutrition and Exercise Physiology, Department of
- Publisher
- United States
- Grant note
- R01 HD056354 / NICHD NIH HHS T32 AG000037 / NIA NIH HHS T32 AG020500 / NIA NIH HHS F31 AG044047 / NIA NIH HHS
- Identifiers
- 99900546942201842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article