Couples who drink together may live longer together, says a University of Michigan researcher. A new study published in the journal GerontologistKira Birditt, a research professor at the U-M Institute for Social Research Research Center, found that couples who consume equal amounts of alcohol (that is, both members drink alcohol) tend to live longer.
He says a theory in the alcohol literature called “shared drinking,” which suggests that couples who share similar drinking patterns tend to have better marital outcomes (such as less conflict and longer marriages), inspired the study.
Purpose and results of the research
Although many studies have examined the effects of couples’ drinking habits on marital outcomes, its health implications are less clear. Behaviors that are good for marriage are not necessarily good for health, Burditt says.
“The purpose of this study was to look at the results on alcohol use and mortality rates in couples in the Health and Retirement Survey,” he said. “And interestingly, we found that couples who both reported drinking alcohol in the past three months lived longer than other couples who both reported not drinking alcohol or whose drinking habits were incompatible where one did not.”
Although this may sound like a recommendation to drink more with your husband, Burditt warns against reading it that way.
The study examined drinking patterns and defined “alcohol use” very broadly, looking at whether a participant had consumed alcohol in the past three months. But it may indicate the importance of being mindful of how partners may affect each other’s health. Consensual drinking between couples may reflect compatibility between partners in lifestyles, intimacy, and relationship satisfaction.
Relationship quality and future research.
“Other studies have found that couples who drink together have better relationship quality, which may be due to increased intimacy,” Burditt said.
This effect may deserve further study. Birdit wants to explore additional issues related to couples’ alcohol consumption and how it affects their relationships.
“We don’t know why drinking by both partners is associated with better survival. I think using other methods that we use in our research on daily experiences and surveys of momentary environmental assessment can really help us understand this, for example, focusing on couples who drink consensual,” he said. “What does their daily life look like? Are they drinking together? What do they do when they drink?
“There is also little information about the daily interpersonal processes that explain these associations. Future research should evaluate the consequences of spouses’ drinking habits on daily marital quality and daily physical health outcomes.”
Source: Port Altele
