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Marriage protects against alcoholism
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
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Scientists claim that single people are more likely to develop alcoholism, and marriage is a kind of protection against this harmful habit.
Alcoholism is a serious disease that begins with almost imperceptible symptoms and subsequently develops into a pathological dependence on alcohol, destroying a person's personality. It is worth noting that some people are more prone to developing alcoholism, especially under the influence of socio-economic environment, emotional or mental inclination, hereditary factors, both internal and external factors play an important role in the development of a bad habit.
In a new study, researchers tried to determine how the relationship between a man and a woman, in particular marriage, affects the likelihood of one of the spouses developing alcoholism in the future, and, as it turns out, the influence is quite strong.
But at the same time, if one of the spouses is an alcoholic, then the risk of developing a severe addiction in the other increases significantly.
The study was conducted at a Swedish university, where psychiatry professor Kenneth Kendler and his colleagues analyzed data from more than 3 million people born between 1960 and 1990. At the start of the study, all participants had no health problems and were single. As a result, scientists found that among men, marriage reduces the likelihood of developing alcoholism by 59%, among women by 73%. Scientists also claim that it is necessary to marry those who have close relatives who suffered from this bad habit and have a hereditary predisposition to alcohol addiction. But this result turned out to be invalid for those who were addicted to alcohol before marriage, in this case, the second half has a significantly increased risk of developing alcohol addiction, especially for women living with alcoholics. According to Professor Kendler, living with a person suffering from alcohol addiction is much worse than being alone.
Now scientists intend to find out whether divorce has any influence on the development of addiction to alcohol. According to scientists, a breakup significantly increases the likelihood of developing alcoholism, both in women and men, since many try to "drown" the weight of the loss of their other half in a glass. Kendler and his team also plan to identify the relationship between the development of alcoholism and other life circumstances, for example, job loss, the inability to have a child, etc.
By the way, scientists believe that marriage is generally good for health; for example, the University of California found that people with cancer who are married live longer than single cancer patients.
Having studied the data of cancer patients and observed their health for several years, scientists have established that mortality among single men is 27% higher, among women - 19%. According to scientists, this may be due to lifestyle and support from a loved one, which plays an important role in the fight against such diseases.
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