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Is marriage a buzzkill? A twin study of marital status and alcohol consumption.
- Source :
-
Journal of family psychology : JFP : journal of the Division of Family Psychology of the American Psychological Association (Division 43) [J Fam Psychol] 2016 Sep; Vol. 30 (6), pp. 698-707. Date of Electronic Publication: 2016 Jun 23. - Publication Year :
- 2016
-
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<br /> ((c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).)
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1939-1293
- Volume :
- 30
- Issue :
- 6
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Journal of family psychology : JFP : journal of the Division of Family Psychology of the American Psychological Association (Division 43)
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 27336180
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000221