Developmental transitions and emergent causative influences: Intimacy, influence, and alcohol problems during the early years of marriage

Interaction-developmental models of alcohol use and related problems embrace the potential for multifactorial and bidirectional influences on and from alcohol consumption that gain or lose importance during different developmental transitions. From this perspective, the key transition to marriage and the accompanying changes during the early years of marriage reflect new influences and reshape many existing ones. Given changes in the social environment and alcohol use and problems over time associated with marriage, this transition provides an ideal time frame in which to observe these critical processes. This chapter focuses on alcohol use and problems that occur during the transition to and throughout the early years of marriage and also the impact of the marital partner and the broader social environment.