Perceptions of partner drinking problems, regulation strategies and relationship outcomes☆
Introduction
Alcohol use can have negative effects on romantic relationships, especially if the partner's drinking is perceived to be problematic. The current research aimed to create measures of perceiving one's partner's drinking as problematic (Thinking about your Partner's Drinking; TPD), as well as strategies intended to reduce the problematic drinking behavior (Partner Management Strategies; PMS). Moreover, considering that perceptions may be more important than actual behavior, this study evaluates the role of perceiving one's romantic partner's drinking as problematic on relationship functioning beyond the perceived level of alcohol consumption and negative alcohol-related consequences. Further, we examined whether the association between perceiving one's partner's drinking as problematic and reduced relationship functioning was due to partner management strategies. Finally, we considered whether the association might vary based upon one's own perception of a self drinking problem.
The negative association between problematic drinking and relationship outcomes has been well established (e.g., Dawson et al., 2007, Foran and O'Leary, 2008, Leonard and Eiden, 2007, Leonard and Rothbard, 1999, Marshal, 2003). For example, Fischer et al. (2005) found that those in romantic relationships were more likely to have poorer conversations on days when they drank heavily. Further, heavy drinking days were associated with fewer positive interactions with romantic partners. Additionally, a recent longitudinal study in dating couples found that heavier drinking by either partner within a relationship was associated with negative outcomes the following day. Moreover, feeling disconnected from one's partner and feeling one's partner behaved negatively toward them were related to increased alcohol use among women (Levitt & Cooper, 2010). In addition to problem drinking being associated with negative interactions, research has also shown that when primed with thoughts about a recent conflict in a romantic relationship, men who received alcohol felt more negatively about the conflict as compared to men in the placebo or control conditions (MacDonald, Zanna, & Holmes, 2000).
The negative effects of drinking partly depend on concordance (i.e., similarity) of drinking patterns between partners. Several studies suggest that the mutual patterning of drinking (i.e., concordance or discordance of drinking levels between partners) is more important in the association between alcohol use and relationship adjustment than the level of drinking (i.e., quantity and frequency of drinking) by either partner. Couples with differing drinking patterns reported poorer relationship functioning (Mudar et al., 2001, Roberts and Leonard, 1998), and the most adverse consequences of heavy drinking appear to occur when one member drinks heavily and the other does not (Homish and Leonard, 2007, Homish et al., 2009, Ostermann et al., 2005). Interestingly, results from Mudar et al. (2001) suggested no significant differences in marital satisfaction as a function of level of overall alcohol consumption. Instead, reductions in satisfaction emerged when partners drank in a discordant manner. The existing literature converges to suggest that the integration of alcohol use into the relationship, rather than the alcohol use alone, is an important determinant of relationship functioning over time.
Interpersonal perceptions and associations between partners' perceptions of one another have important implications for individuals comprising a relationship, even beyond their actual reports (Acitelli et al., 1993, Fiske et al., 2010). Research has shown positive perceptions of one's partner to be associated with higher levels of relationship satisfaction and commitment (Cobb et al., 2001, Molden et al., 2009, Murray et al., 1996, Neff and Karney, 2005, Ruvolo and Fabin, 1999, Watson et al., 2000). In the perceptions of alcohol use domain, Amato and Rogers (1997) studied the effect of perceptions of drinking in marital relationships and found the perceptions of either partner's drinking as a concern at baseline to be associated with the likelihood of divorce in subsequent years.
Interpersonal perception plays a critical role in the association between alcohol use and relationship outcomes in that the attributions derived from drinking behavior may be perceived as positive (e.g., “We always have a great time when we spend time with friends over happy hour”) or negative (e.g., “Why does s/he always drink so much when we go out?”). If an individual believes his or her partner drinks to have fun and be social and does not drink to a problematic extent, then the behavior may actually be beneficial to the relationship. Research has found that, under conditions of controlled intoxication and controlled conversation topics, alcohol facilitates drinkers to communicate more frequently and to problem-solve more effectively (Frankenstein, Hay, & Nathan, 1985). Alternatively, drinking that is perceived as excessive can become problematic for the self, the partner, and/or the relationship.
The subjective nature of perceptions means that not everyone will perceive the same threshold for what constitutes problematic drinking. As research on concordance has shown, when the discrepancy between the two partners' drinking is high, conflict and lower relationship functioning is likely. But beyond how much an individual drinks is the level at which an alcohol problem is perceived to be occurring. This may depend on the person's value system (e.g., religious affiliations vary in their proscriptions regarding alcohol), personal attitudes toward drinking based on previous experience (both one's own experience and experience with parents and close others), what a normative amount of alcohol use is perceived to be, and myriad of other potential factors. Whereas one person may consider three drinks per week a problem, another person's threshold may lie closer to ten. Importantly, discrepancies in attitudes between partners with regard to alcohol use may have consequences for the level of conflict and distress the couple experiences.
Although research has shown that partners are generally in agreement when estimating more objective indicators of drinking behaviors (e.g., average number of drinks per week; Connors & Maisto, 2003), when the target behavior or emotion is more subjective (e.g., perceived temptation to drink, perceived marital satisfaction), the discrepancy between one's own rating and one's partner's perception increases. For example, married couples with one partner reporting alcohol problems misperceived their partner's level of relationship satisfaction (Antoine, Christophe, & Nandrino, 2009). Problem drinkers overestimated the marital satisfaction of their partner, whereas spouses underestimated the marital satisfaction of the drinker. Implications of this can be better understood in light of other research that has shown that subjective perceptions may be better indicators of satisfaction than actual reports (Fiske et al., 2010, Saffrey et al., 2003). For example, the perception that one is similar to one's partner predicted relationship satisfaction better than actual similarity (Acitelli et al., 1993).
Close others are usually among the first to try to limit a drinker's excessive alcohol use (Room et al., 1991, Wiseman, 1991). In response to recognizing a developing or existing drinking problem, individuals who care about the drinker may engage in management strategies in an attempt to constrain, limit, or control their partner's drinking. Such attempts may involve behaviors such as complaining or nagging about the drinking, withdrawing from the drinker, and threatening the drinker if the drinking is not controlled (Yoshioka, Thomas, & Ager, 1992). Partner management strategies are consistent with the frequency and quantity of alcohol consumed by the drinker (e.g., Raitasalo & Holmila, 2005). Not surprisingly, these attempts may actually worsen the situation. Management strategies, particularly ones focused on chastising the drinker, may elicit conflicts between partners, escalating the level of both relationship tension and subsequent alcohol use (Antoine et al., 2009, Yoshioka et al., 1992). The negative effects of these behaviors do not fall solely on the drinker; the partner may also become frustrated or angry about the seemingly wasted effort aimed – many times with good intentions – at reducing a perceived problematic behavior. Further, in cases where the drinker does reduce his or her level of consumption, the partner's control efforts may interfere with what would be a beneficial outcome if largely aversive behaviors such as yelling or threatening are utilized.
Partner management strategies may take many forms, some of which have a positive focus (e.g., rewarding the partner for non-alcohol oriented activities), and others which are more negatively focused (e.g., punishing the partner for the problematic behavior). Research on general partner regulation behaviors suggests that attempts that are perceived as critical, demanding or punishing may be less effective than attempts that are perceived as genuine or warm (Overall & Fletcher, 2010). With regard to addictive behaviors, positive reinforcement for sobriety yielded lower levels of emotional, psychological, and marital distress, whereas confrontational coping techniques by the partner yielded higher levels of distress (Philpott & Christie, 2008).
Previous research shows that even when controlling for one's own problematic drinking, one's partner's self-reported problematic drinking predicts poorer relationship outcomes (e.g., Cranford, Floyd, Schulenberg, & Zucker, 2011). The foundation for the current research was the idea that perceptions of one's partner may have important consequences for relationship functioning beyond either partner's objective reports. The current research evaluated associations between perceptions of a drinking problem (in both one's self and one's partner), attempts to regulate one's partner's drinking behavior, and relationship functioning. Surprisingly, a measure of perception of one's partner's problematic drinking could not be found and was thus created for this research.
We expected a positive association between how much individuals perceived their partner to drink and perceiving their partner to have a drinking problem (H1a). We also expected a positive association between one's own reported drinking and perceiving one's self to have a drinking problem (H1b). We expected a negative association between perceiving one's partner to have a drinking problem and relationship functioning, and we expected this to be true controlling for perceived partner drinking and alcohol-related consequences, own drinking and consequences, and perceiving oneself to have a drinking problem (H2). Further, we expected the negative association between perceiving one's partner to have a drinking problem and relationship outcomes to be mediated by attempts to regulate, control, or constrain the partner's drinking (H3). Finally, we expected that the negative association between perceiving one's partner to have a drinking problem and relationship functioning to be weaker among individuals who also believe that they themselves have a drinking problem (H4).
Section snippets
Participants and procedure
The current research was reviewed and approved by the university's Institutional Review Board. Participants included 702 undergraduate students (88.6% female) who had been in a romantic relationship of three months or longer. Participants were, on average, 22.9 years of age (SD = 5.32 years). About a third (34%) of the participants were identified as Caucasian, 19% African American, 18% Asian, 17% Hispanic/Latino/a, 1% Pacific Islander, 1% Native American, 7% Multi-Ethnic, and 3% Other. With regard
Overview
Results for the current research first utilized exploratory factor analyses to examine the factor structures of the TPD, TOD, and PMS measures. Second, analyses using structural equation modeling evaluated the association between perceiving one's partner to have a drinking problem and relationship functioning, when controlling for own drinking, perception of own drinking problem, and perceived partner drinking. Third, we examined whether the association between perceiving a drinking problem in
Discussion
The present research was designed to consider how the perceptions that one's partner's drinking is a problem (and how the perceptions that one has a drinking problem) influence relationship well-being. Perceiving one's partner's drinking as problematic was associated with the level of perceived partner drinking, but it is important to note that these are not necessarily synonymous. There may be considerable variability in what is viewed as problematic from person to person. Moreover, perceiving
Role of funding sources
Funding for this study was provided by the NIAAA Grant F31AA020442. NIAAA had no role in the study design, collection, analysis or interpretation of the data, writing of the manuscript, or the decision to submit the paper for publication.
Contributors
Author 1 designed the study, collected the data, analyzed the results, and wrote pieces of all major sections. Author 2 wrote pieces of the introduction that summarized previous research studies and compiled the tables. Author 3 participated in the analyses and wrote sections of the discussion. All authors contributed to and have approved the final manuscript.
Conflict of interest
All three authors have declared no conflict of interest.
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Preparation of this article was supported in part by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Grant F31AA020442.