The effects of marital status, partner drinking, and sex differences on the likelihood of remission from alcohol use disorder

Sep 30, 2026

Uploaded by Patrick

Objective: Marriage is associated with improved health and alcohol outcomes, yet prior research has often merged different non-marital relationships, making it unclear whether benefits are specific to marriage or due to relationship strength. This study tests whether marriage, compared with cohabitation, exclusive dating, or being single, relates to alcohol use disorder (AUD) remission and whether effects differ by sex and partner drinking. Method: Adults with lifetime DSM-5 AUD were analyzed with multivariate logistic regression and interaction models. Predicted remission prevalence was estimated with marginal standardization and compared using prevalence differences.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages9

Reading Time23 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Marital status

Alcohol and Alcoholism, 2026, 61, agaf085 [https://doi.org/10.1093/alcalc/agaf085](https://doi.org/10.1093/alcalc/agaf085) Original Manuscript The effects of marital status, partner drinking, and sex differences on the likelihood of remission from alcohol use disorder Christina Garasky 1 , * , Alexis Duncan2 , Fanghong Dong1 , Gayathri Pandey3 , Jiawen Zhao4 , Jared Balbona1 , Grace Chan 5 , Weipeng Kuang 3 , Chella Kamarajan3 , Martin Plawecki6 , Victor Hesselbrock5 , Samuel Kuperman7 , Bernice Porjesz3 , Andrey Anokhin1 , Emma Johnson1 , Arpana Agrawal1 , Jessica Salvatore 4 , Sally Kuo4 , Kathleen Bucholz1 , Vivia McCutcheon1 , COGA Collaborators 1 Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States 2 Brown School of Social Work, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, United States 3 Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, Brooklyn, NY, 11203, United States 4 Department of Psychiatry, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway, NJ 08901, United States 5 Department of Psychiatry, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, CT 06030, United States 6 Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, United States 7 Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA 52242 United States *Corresponding author. Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, 4560 Clayton Avenue, Suite 1000, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA. E-mail: [garasky@wustl.edu](garasky@wustl.edu) Abstract Objective: Marriage is associated with improved health and alcohol outcomes, yet prior research has often combined diverse non-marital relationships, obscuring whether beneﬁts are unique to marriage or a result of strong interpersonal relationships. This study examines whether marriage, compared to cohabitation, exclusive dating, or being single, is associated with alcohol use disorder (AUD) remission and whether this varies by sex and partner drinking. Method: Participants were adults from the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism Lifespan Study (n = 1494; 54.4% female) who met criteria for lifetime DSM-5 AUD. Multivariate logistic regression models examined the association between marital status and remission. Subsequent models tested interactions among marital status, partner drinking, and sex. Predicted remission prevalence was estimated using marginal standardization and compared across groups on an additive scale using prevalence differences (PD) . Results: Married individuals had greater predicted prevalence of remission, particularly compared to those who were exclusively dating (PD= 9.2, P = .020) . Married females whose partners were average alcohol consumers (PD = 12.20, q = .049) or abstinent (PD = 17.98, q= .017), and married males whose partners had above average alcohol consumption (PD= 25.30, q = .049) had greater predicted prevalence of remission compared to their counterparts who were in non-marital committed relationships. Conclusion: The ﬁndings suggest differences in marital status and relationship factors may indicate increased risk and challenges in sustaining remission and highlight potential caveats of marital status as a protective factor. This emphasizes the need to consider these factors in designing treatment strategies. Keywords: alcohol use disorder; alcohol use disorder remission; recovery; marital status; sex differences; partner alcohol consumption Introduction In 2023, nearly 30 million adults (10.9% of the US population) met criteria for past-year Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD; SAMHSA,2024), and over 30% of the population is projected to meet criteria for AUD within their lifetime (Grant et al. 2015), costing society billions of dollars a year (Sacks et al. 2015). For many, it is a chronic disorder marked by repeating cycles of remission, define

FAQs

How does the study define remission from alcohol use disorder (AUD)?

Remission is defined as the absence of AUD criteria for at least 12 months, followed by the potential return of symptoms.

What comparison groups are used to evaluate marital status effects?

The study compares marriage with cohabitation, exclusive dating, and being single to assess associations with AUD remission.

Does partner drinking influence remission differently for men and women in the results?

Yes. The findings report sex-specific patterns, including differences in predicted remission prevalence when married individuals have partners with average versus above-average alcohol consumption or abstinent partners.

Sep 30, 2026

Uploaded by Patrick