Alcohol and the continuation of early marital aggression

Background: Husband alcohol use has frequently been found to be related to husband-to-wife marital violence. Research has demonstrated a prospective l ink between husband alcohol use before marriage and husband-to-wife aggress ion in the first year of marriage. The present study examined the relations hips of husband violence, marital conflict, and couple's alcohol use in the first year of marriage to husband-to-wife marital violence in the second a nd third years of marriage. Methods: Newlywed couples were recruited at the time of marriage and were i nterviewed regarding alcohol use and experience with violence before marria ge, 1 year after marriage, and 3 years after marriage. Results: Year 1 violence was predictive of subsequent marital violence. Hus band and wife drinking patterns in the first year of marriage interacted to predict violence in later years. The most violence in subsequent years occ urred in couples where the husband was a heavy drinker and the wife was not . Husbands who were violent in year 1 were more likely to be violent in lat er years. When no violence occurred in the first year, frequent use of verb al aggression in year 1 was predictive of violence in subsequent years. Conclusions: The predictive value of husband drinking patterns for subseque nt violence extends beyond the transition to marriage. The fact that husban d and wife alcohol use interacted to predict future aggression suggests tha t the relationship between husband alcohol use and marital violence is not spurious nor the result of conflict and violence promoting alcohol use. The findings may reflect multiple instances of acute intoxication and/or alcoh ol-related stress and conflict within the relationship, both of which may i ncrease the likelihood of aggression.