Introduction
Today's society typically accepts the notion that the institution of marriage has some sort of mysterious protective effect on those who choose to enter into the matrimonial bond. Numerous scientific studies, for instance, have shown that married people are less likely to become depressed or commit suicide, are not nearly as susceptible to violent crimes, and incur fewer and less severe injuries in traffic accidents. Alcoholism and alcohol problems fall under this protective umbrella as well. Experts indicate that, although no allowance was made to indicate problem drinkers, 73% of married men and 63% of married women in the United States use alcohol to some degree. In light of this information, it is easy to understand that consumption of alcohol has the potential to affect change in the marriage relationship, as well as to be affected by the relationship. This conclusion has been supported in numerous research situations, specifically in those where each member of a couple experienced a significant decline in frequency of alcohol consumption and the number of alcohol problems between the engagement period and the first anniversary. This reduced consumption even seems to extend equally to all drinking styles, whether consumption is light, moderate, or heavy. Furthermore, even married people with alcohol disorders enjoy fewer and less severe health and social consequences of their drinking than single, separated, or divorced alcoholics.
Marriage and Mental Health
In order to understand the effect of marital status on mental health, it is important to examine first the differences in how men and women manifest psychological distress. It would appear from past studies that women are more likely to experience depression as a result of marital or external stressors, but these results may be skewed by the concept that females are more inclined to recognize and report symptoms of depression while men may suppress depressive symptoms through some form of dysfunctional behavior, such as increased alcohol consumption. This belief is supported by the finding that external stressors such as occupational position, financial need, or illness result in increased drinking among men and greater symptoms of psychological disorders for women. Men also report far more alcohol problems than do women. However, married people in their twenties, according to experts in the field, have better overall mental health than those of their peers who remain single through the third decade of life, regardless of sex. It is important to note that, although depressive symptoms and alcohol problems tend to decrease naturally for males and females through this stage, both decline more sharply for individuals who become married before the age of 31. In addition, becoming married actually has a more significant effect on reducing the frequency and degree of alcohol abuse than on mitigating depressive symptoms. The importance of the influence of marriage on the development of alcohol disorders has been examined as well, since 40% of those who develop an alcohol disorder experience onset of symptoms between the ages of 20 and 30, the normative time for marriage. As borne out by studies, marriage did indeed facilitate a reduced risk of experiencing onset of an alcohol disorder. No appreciable difference in risk was indicated for young adults who became married as opposed to those who remained in an existing marriage, but for those who continued to be single or for those who became divorced the odds of being afflicted with a first-onset alcohol disorder were nearly four times higher. Where a persistent alcohol disorder was concerned, these same studies determined that individuals who became divorced were most likely to display signs of a chronic disorder, whereas those who became married were more likely to see a decline or cessation in disorder symptoms.
Transitions in Adult Social Roles
Much has been made of the apparent correlation between marriage and lowered consumption of alcohol, but regard also must be given as to whether the effect is due to the state of matrimony itself, or more to the actual process of preparing oneself for marriage. Some experts believe, and have demonstrated, that for couples who marry in their twenties, alcohol consumption begins to decline even before the marriage ceremony occurs. This decrease continues into the first year of the union, after which the rate and frequency of alcohol use stabilizes. Furthermore, individuals who were preparing to marry within one calendar year reduced their incidences of heavy drinking as compared with those who were not planning to become married, despite the fact that these individuals were still technically single. This reduction in heavy drinking, however, did not extend to more than one calendar year before the marriage. Several possible causative factors can be isolated with regard to this phenomenon, including attitude shifts brought about by a heightened sense of responsibility and a significant change in the social environment that may lead to reduced opportunities for heavy drinking.
For All the Men Reading this Article: One Last Thing...
You aren't getting any younger. Your dreams of dating the beautiful women you desire are NOT getting any closer by just hoping for it to happen. If you want to make REAL progress in your dating life, you need some REAL advice. That is why you need FREE One-on-One Consulting from a Master of Seduction.
Get yourself a FREE Insider Access Pass to the most effective and results-rich dating advice in existence (http://www.attracted2women.info).
Living with an alcoholic is a very fragile existence, the relationship always undermined by a breach of trust or a potential breach of trust. Find out at http://www.livingwithanalcoholic.org on how to deal with it.
No comments:
Post a Comment