Alcohol, Shakespeare wrote, "provokes the desire, but it
takes away the performance."
But, a new study, published in Personality and Social
Psychology Bulletin, contends that drinking can have positive, as well as
negative, effects in young people's relationships.
"We really can't make the blanket statements about drinking
and romantic relationships that people have come to expect," says Ash Levitt,
postdoctoral fellow at the University at Buffalo.
No absolutes
"For instance, it turns out that drinking together rather
than apart is clearly good for relationships," Levitt explained. "Individuals
who drink with their partner report feeling increased intimacy and decreased
relationship problems the next day, compared to individuals who drink apart
from their partner or do not drink at all."
The study could prove helpful in providing clues about who
might be at risk from the adverse consequences of alcohol use within committed
relationships.
Amounts count
The beneficial outcomes for relationships were associated
with relatively lower levels of drinking, one to three drinks, whereas harmful
outcomes -- decreased intimacy and increased relationship problems -- were
associated with heavier levels of drinking, as in four or more drinks.
The study included 69 heterosexual couples who averaged
20-21 years of age. The majority of the participants were white and over 90
percent were college students. Most were dating seriously and seven of the
couples were married.
Interestingly, heavy alcohol consumption was not always
harmful to relationships, Levitt says.
"The harmful effects of heavy drinking
were buffered when partners drank together versus apart. Also, when both partners drank either heavy or light
amounts, as long as they were similar amounts compared to their partner, it was
better for the relationship than when one drank heavily and the other lightly."
Women vs. men
Finally, the associations between drinking and relationships
were stronger and more numerous for women than for men, suggesting that alcohol
use plays a larger role in romantic relationships for women than it does for
men.
Women appeared to drink with their partner in response to
relationship problems, feeling disconnected, or when they perceived that he had
behaved negatively toward them the day before.
Also, only women were protected from the harmful effects of
heavier drinking when they drank with their partner; men did not benefit in the
same situation. Women also drank significantly more on days following negative
events with their partners than men did after negative events.
"Using computerized or online daily diary methods to compile day-to-day variations in thoughts and behaviors provided us with very accurate sequences of events," Levitt says. "This reliable record of effects for each gender, the nature of the drinking, and the processes occurring between the partners provided information about factors that may make or break relationships over time."
