A Drinking Spouse Makes a Difference

Wives of Alcoholics More Likely
Abuse Alcohol Themselves

By BuddyT

Women who are married to alcoholics are three times more likely to abuse alcohol themselves and three times more likely to work outside the home, compared to wives of non-alcoholics, according to new research.

The study also found that wives of alcoholics experience no more depression than women who are married to non-alcoholics, a finding that contradicts previous studies.

Dr. Marc Schuckit, director of the Alcohol Research Center in the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, has been conducting a long-term genetic study on 453 sons of alcoholics. Since 1978, when the men were first contacted by Schuckit while in college, most have married and had families. Ninety-two have become alcoholics. The research continues to follow their lives as well as tracing the prevalence of alcoholism in their children.

Wives of Alcoholics

As part of his study of their children, Schuckit decided to study their mothers also. His current findings are based on interviews with 327 women who were the first wives of men whose fathers were alcoholics.

Some of the study's findings include:

• Women married to alcoholics were three times more likely to be abusing alcohol than the women in the study who were not married to alcoholics -- drinking more often and more heavily.


• Women married to alcoholics were three times less likely to be full-time homemakers than the women who were not married to alcoholics and were more likely to have careers.


• Women married to alcoholics had no higher rates for major depression or bipolar disorder than did the women who were married to non-alcoholic men.

Functional Alcoholics

Previous studies have suggested women married to alcoholics have a higher rate of psychiatric disorders, but Schucket's research seems to counter those findings. The difference between Schucket's research and most previous research lies with the types of subjects he interviewed.

Most previous research concerning wives of alcoholics has been conducted with women married to alcoholics undergoing treatment and rehabilitation. Schuckit's research was conducted with wives of "functional alcoholics" -- meaning that they still had jobs, families, etc.

Enabling the Alcoholic?

"People who drink a lot tend to congregate with other people who drink a lot, which tends to magnify the probability that drinking will lead to severe problems." Schucket told reporters. "Whatever it is that is going on in these marriages, it's not that the woman is impaired. They are pretty highly functioning people."

RELATED: Effects of Alcoholism on the Family

Other observers say that the wives of alcoholics becoming competent career women can also play a role in the family problems. If she takes over for the husband -- becoming the one who pays the bills and keeps the family afloat -- she could be enabling the alcoholic's behavior to continue.

^{Source: Schuckit, MA, et al. "Women Who Marry Men With Alcohol-Use Disorders." Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research 11 April 2006}

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