ALCOHOL IN THE EARLY YEARS OF MARRIAGE

Marriage, a marker event for the transition from adolescence to young adulthood brings with if many changes, including shifts in values, new roles, and adjustments in a couple's relationship. Marriage also appe ars to generate shifts in alcohol use and alcohol consumption, changes that can occur even before the marriage ceremony fakes place. Alcohol plays a role in marital violence, marital quality, and marital disrup tions. However, high levels of individual alcohol consumption in a mar riage do not uniformly lead to lower marital qualify. Rather, it may b e the nature of a couple's drinking partnership (i.e., the interplay o f each spouse's drinking context and drinking patterns) that has the m ost effect on the health of a marriage.