Journal article
The effects of marital status, partner drinking, and sex differences on the likelihood of remission from alcohol use disorder
Alcohol and alcoholism (Oxford), Vol.61(1), agaf085
01/2026
DOI: 10.1093/alcalc/agaf085
PMCID: PMC12779479
PMID: 41501993
Abstract
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.
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).
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.
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.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- The effects of marital status, partner drinking, and sex differences on the likelihood of remission from alcohol use disorder
- Creators
- Christina Garasky - Washington University in St. LouisAlexis Duncan - Washington University in St. LouisFanghong Dong - Washington University in St. LouisGayathri Pandey - SUNY Downstate Health Sciences UniversityJiawen Zhao - Johnson UniversityJared Balbona - Washington University in St. LouisGrace Chan - UConn HealthWeipeng Kuang - SUNY Downstate Health Sciences UniversityChella Kamarajan - SUNY Downstate Health Sciences UniversityMartin Plawecki - Indiana University – Purdue University IndianapolisVictor Hesselbrock - University of ConnecticutSamuel Kuperman - University of IowaBernice Porjesz - SUNY Downstate Health Sciences UniversityAndrey Anokhin - Washington University in St. LouisEmma Johnson - Washington University in St. LouisArpana Agrawal - Washington University in St. LouisJessica Salvatore - Johnson UniversitySally Kuo - Johnson UniversityKathleen Bucholz - Washington University in St. LouisVivia McCutcheon - Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Alcohol and alcoholism (Oxford), Vol.61(1), agaf085
- DOI
- 10.1093/alcalc/agaf085
- PMID
- 41501993
- PMCID
- PMC12779479
- NLM abbreviation
- Alcohol Alcohol
- ISSN
- 1464-3502
- eISSN
- 1464-3502
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press
- Grant note
- T32 DA015025 / NIH HHS U10 AA00840 / NIH HHS R01 AA030563 / NIH HHS
- Language
- English
- Electronic publication date
- 11/16/2025
- Date published
- 01/2026
- Academic Unit
- Psychiatry
- Record Identifier
- 9985116069002771
Metrics
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