Mental Disorders and Distress in Marriages with a Problem Drinking Husband

ABSTRACT

The aim of this research was to evaluate the extent to which spouses and their problem drinking husbands experience mental disorders and distress separately and interactively. Consistent with the literature, the sample of 24 wives and their husbands reported elevated levels of depression and anxiety. The couples showed more pervasive mental disorders than that reported in the literature, with elevated scores for Obsessive-Compulsive, Hostility, and Paranoia. Results suggested no spouse-partner differences on any of the mental disorder measures. However, wives reported greater marriage-family and alcohol-related distress than their husbands. The findings support a systemic approach in assessing and treating couples with an alcohol abusing partner.

KEYWORDS:

• Mental Disorder
• Distress
• Spouses
• Comorbidity
• Alcohol Misuse

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the contributions of the late Dr. Edwin J. Thomas who developed the UFT treatment approach and served as the Principle Investigator for this study. The authors declare no commercial, financial, or other conflict of interests with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported in part by [Grants 1R01 AA4163-03 and 2R01 AA4163-06] National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.