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

> **NIH NIH F32** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN · 2020 · $26,997

## Abstract

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.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9890982
- **Project number:** 5F32AA025814-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
- **Principal Investigator:** Amanda Pollitt
- **Activity code:** F32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $26,997
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-03-12 → 2020-08-02

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9890982

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9890982, Impact of Marital Quality and Alcohol Use on Health in Diverse Marriages (5F32AA025814-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9890982. Licensed CC0.

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