Impact of Marital Quality and Alcohol Use on Health in Diverse Marriages

项目总结/摘要 在美国，过度饮酒每年造成88，000人死亡，近2250亿美元的成本。 婚姻对酒精用途：已婚夫妇报告的酒精使用量比未婚夫妇少 同行配偶之间相互影响的一个途径是婚姻质量;婚姻质量是 与饮酒呈负相关。性少数人群报告酒精使用率升高 与异性恋者相比，几乎所有关于婚姻质量和酒精使用的研究都是基于 异性伴侣的经历。我们不知道婚姻是否能保护同性饮酒 以及这些过程是否遵循类似的模式， 由两个男人或两个女人组成。有必要了解同性婚姻的质量和饮酒情况 婚姻为预防和干预方案提供信息，以减少性少数群体饮酒的差异。 在拟议的项目中，波利特女士的主要目标是评估婚姻质量如何在相同的， 异性婚姻与饮酒有关，以及这些协会在男性和女性中的差异 这些婚姻。她建议通过以下目标实现这一目标： 同性婚姻和异性婚姻中日常婚姻质量与饮酒的关系;（2）识别非 婚姻压力加剧了婚姻质量对酒精使用的估计影响， 性婚姻;（3）研究婚姻质量和饮酒对身心健康的影响 同性和异性伴侣的症状 通过拟议的研究计划，波利特女士将解决重要的性少数群体的健康问题。 与酒精使用和身心健康有关的问题。为了实现研究计划的目标， 女士波利特需要在人际关系和健康，家庭人口统计学， 酒精使用和每日日记分析。培训计划将正式课程与一对一课程相结合， 一个辅导与她的赞助商和顾问，以发展这些实质性的技能，除了 延长她的出版记录，促进她的专业发展，完成一个 联邦拨款申请，并为她的独立研究生涯做准备。

Project Summary/Abstract Excessive alcohol use accounts for 88,000 deaths and nearly $225 billion in costs in the U.S. annually. Marriage is protective for alcohol use: married couples report less alcohol use than their unmarried counterparts. One pathway through which spouses influence each other is marital quality; marital quality is then inversely associated with alcohol use. Sexual minority people report elevated rates of alcohol use compared to heterosexuals, yet almost all past research on marital quality and alcohol use has been based on experiences of different-sex couples. We do not know if marriage is protective of alcohol use for same-sex couples as for heterosexual couples and whether these processes follow similar patterns when marriages consist of two men or two women. There is a need to understand marital quality and alcohol use in same-sex marriages to inform prevention and intervention programs to decrease sexual minority alcohol use disparities. In the proposed project, Ms. Pollitt's major objective is to assess how marital quality in same- and different-sex marriages relates to alcohol use and how these associations differ for men and women in these marriages. She proposes to address this objective through the following aims: (1) Compare the association of day-to-day marital quality with alcohol use in same- and different-sex marriages; (2) Identify non- marital stressors that exacerbate the estimated effect of marital quality on alcohol use in same- and different- sex marriages; (3) Examine the impact of marital quality and alcohol use on physical and mental health symptoms for same- and different-sex couples. With the proposed research plan, Ms. Pollitt will address significant sexual minority population health concerns related to alcohol use and physical and mental health. To accomplish the goals of the research plan, Ms. Pollitt needs training in relationships and health, family demography, the etiology and epidemiology of alcohol use, and dyadic daily diary analysis. The training plan combines formal coursework with one-on- one mentoring with her sponsors and consultants to develop these substantive skills in addition to lengthening her publication record, enhancing her professional development, the completion of a federal grant application, and preparing her for an independent research career.