Familial Transmission of Alcohol Use: V. Drinking Patterns Among Spouses, Tecumseh, Michigan

This study examined concordance and discordance of self-reported alcohol consumption in 184 spouse pairs drawn from a representative sample of the Tecumseh, MI community. A significant association (tau B=.57,p<.001) between self-reported alcohol consumption of husbands and that of wives was observed. Drinking daily and high maximum drinking were also significantly correlated between spouses, as were church attendance, smoking, impulsivity, and sociability. A significant association between the drinking of wives and that of their mothers-in-law was noted. The relationship between husbands' drinking and that of their fathers-in-law was marginally significant. However, three-quarters of daughters of heavy-drinking fathers (21 of 28) married abstemious men (never drank or drank lightly), while only 7% married heavy-drinking husbands. These findings lend support to the idea that a network of familial influences—both primary and secondary assortative mating—contributes to regulating adult drinking behavior.