People who are married or live together drink less than single people, according to a new study.
The findings show that "once you're in a committed relationship, your
drinking frequency declines permanently, whereas quantity goes back up
if you exit that relationship," said lead author Diana Dinescu, a
doctoral candidate in clinical psychology at the University of Virginia.
The researchers looked at more than 2,400 twin pairs (about 1,600
female pairs and more than 800 male pairs). They found that those who
were married drank less alcohol and drank less often than those who were
single or divorced.
This isn't the first study to show that married adults drink less
than their peers without partners. But by focusing on twins, the authors
said genetic predispositions and differences in upbringing would be
less likely to affect the results.
"It seems that intimate relationships may provide a real benefit in
terms of drinking behavior, maybe through mechanisms such as a
monitoring effect that partners have on each other," Dinescu said in a
university news release.
The researchers found that twins who lived with a partner drank more
often than married twins, but consumed lower amounts of alcohol than
those who were single, divorced or widowed.
While men in common-law relationships drank less per occasion than
married men, women in common-law relationships drank about the same
amount per occasion as those who were married, according to the study.
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