A Look at Heavy Drinking and Divorce Rates
According to multiple studies including “Alcohol consumption and divorce rates in the United States” there is support to indicate that heavy drinking impacts divorce rates in the United States. Another study looked at over 4500 married couples and found that couples with one heavy drinker were most likely to divorce.
Heavy drinking and Alcohol Use Disorder can lead to an increase in aggression or violent tendencies. Alcohol abuse can have a negative impact on the drinker’s physical, mental and emotional well-being. Relationship problems are common among married or cohabitating couples, particularly where one is a heavy drinker and the other is not. Alcohol dependency may also lead to financial difficulties which could put stress and strain on a marriage or other relationship.
A report in Medical Daily stated that where one spouse was a heavy drinker but the other was not, the divorce rate was around 50% as opposed to marriages where both couples were heavy drinkers or abstained from drinking which ended in divorce around 30% of the time.
Heavy drinking by one, or even both partners, can greatly impact children as well. It is extremely important that if you feel that your partner has a dependence on alcohol you seek help immediately. There are treatment options available for every person, at every price-point. Money should not be the reason you do not seek treatment. The road to recovery may be different for everyone but it starts with a commitment.