Does Marital Conflict Predict Later Alcohol Use?

Abstract

Couple’s physical and verbal aggression were examined longitudinally to determine if they predict later alcohol use, controlling for SES, race/ethnicity, and individual partner’s age. The sample consisted of 194 couples from different counties in the state of Alabama. The current study showed that overall, couple’s physical and verbal aggression do predict later alcohol use even controlling for SES, race/ethnicity, and individual partner’s age. Specifically, the couple’s earlier physical aggression predicted wives’ later alcohol use and couples’ earlier verbal aggression predicted husbands’ later alcohol use. In addition, by fitting a second series of models, in which husbands’ and wives’ earlier alcohol use predicted later physical and verbal aggression, only husbands’ alcohol use predicted the couple’s physical and verbal aggression, again controlling for SES, race/ethnicity, and age, replicating previous findings in the literature.