Longitudinal Relations Between Marital Aggression and Alcohol Problems

Relations between couples' (N = 158) marital aggression and alcohol problems were examined across a two-year period. Alcohol problems and aggression were assessed via self-report and partner-reports. Results support bidirectional relations between marital aggression and problem drinking. T1 wife problem drinking was associated with decreased T2 verbal aggression; T1 husband problem drinking was associated with increased T2 physical aggression. T1 physical aggression predicted increased T2 wife problem drinking; it predicted increased T2 husband problem drinking only when wife problem drinking was low. T1 verbal marital aggression predicted increased T2 husband problem drinking only when husbands engaged in greater problem drinking at T1. Results suggest that problem drinking may prevent couples from adequately handling marital disagreements, and that marital problems may lead to drinking as a form of coping with stress; couples in which the husband engages in greater problem drinking than the wife may be at increased risk.