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 Based on data for a nationally representative sample of U.S. couples
over age 50, the study found that women, in particular, were more
dissatisfied over time when only they, and not their husband, drank.
The amount that people drank was less important than whether both
partners had the same habit of drinking or not drinking, researchers
report in Journals of Gerontology B: Psychological Sciences, online
June 27.
“We’re not suggesting that people should drink more or change the
way they drink, said study author Dr. Kira Birditt of the University
of Michigan in Ann Arbor, who studies relationships across
adulthood.
“We’re not sure why this is happening,” she told Reuters Health,
“but it could be that couples that do more leisure time activities
together have better marital quality.”
In other words, drinking may not be the only reason they’re getting
along, Birditt said.
For the study, Birditt and her colleagues analyzed responses from
4,864 married participants, in 2,767 couples, participating in the
long-term Health and Retirement Survey. Between 2006 and 2016, all
participants had a face to face interview with researchers and
answered questionnaires about their drinking habits – whether they
drank, how many days a week they drank and how many drinks they had
on the days they drank.
Couples were married for an average of 33 years and about two-thirds
were in their first marriage.
They also answered questions about the quality of their marriage,
including whether they thought their spouses were too demanding or
too critical, if their spouse was reliable when they needed help and
if they found their spouse irritating.
Results showed that in more than half of couples, both spouses
drank. Husbands were more likely to drink than wives. But
particularly for wives, there was a problem when only one of the
spouses drank.
When wives drank and the husbands didn’t, wives reported they were
more dissatisfied with their marriage.
“The study shows that it’s not about how much they’re drinking, it’s
about whether they drink at all,” Birditt said.
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But, she emphasized, drinking among older adults is becoming an
increasing problem, “especially among baby boomers, who seem more
accepting of alcohol use.”
It also shows that partners influence each other in a relationship,
she added.
Birditt speculates that spouses have a huge impact on each other,
especially when they’re older and retired and spending a lot of time
together. She suggests that when one spouse has to stop drinking,
the other should stop as well.
Another intriguing finding was the number of people in the study who
were heavy drinkers, noted Dr. Fred Blow, also at the University of
Michigan, who was not involved with the study.
About 20 percent of men and 6 percent of women had significant
drinking problems in this study, he said.
“Problem drinkers are a whole different kettle of fish,” he said.
“Serious heavy drinkers have disruptive relationships with people,
particularly their partners. That’s an important issue that should
be looked at going forward.”
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/29IcwSj
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci 2016.
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reserved.] Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
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