Heavy alcohol use and the risk for divorce

Divorce is not a one-size-fits-all process and for every individual divorce proceeding in Las Vegas, there is an equally individual reason for initiating the divorce in the first place. For some, it’s a lack of communication, while for others it is years of a stale relationship that can’t be repaired. A lot of research has been conducted that looks into the reasons for divorce, with a recent study concentrating on alcohol use.

The study looked at alcohol’s influence on marriages. Researchers began to study nearly 20,000 couples in the mid 1980s by asking them questions about alcohol use and mental distress. Over the next 15 years, the researchers continued to follow up with the couples and recorded divorces that occurred.

Researchers found that the more married people drank, the higher the risk for divorce. Even couples that drank about the same had a higher risk of divorce. Interestingly, the study showed that the risk for divorce tripled when the wife’s level of drinking was heavy and the husband’s drinking was low. Researchers say it’s possible that woman are more affected by alcohol than men, and that heavy drinking is less tolerated in women than men. One of the researchers pointed out, “Perhaps the husband is more apt to leave the spouse than is the wife when major problems occur.”

Although alcohol use can have an effect on the longevity of a marriage, it is one of many reasons that could lead to divorce. At some point in a marriage, one or both spouses decide that while a divorce is a difficult process to go through, it is in their best interest to part ways.

Source: FOX News, “Heavy drinking raises risk of divorce,” Stephanie Pappas, Feb. 6, 2013