How being married makes you drink less than singletons

IT is often said that getting married helps to curb your wildest excesses.

Now scientists have discovered that is true – at least, when it comes to alcohol.

A US study has found that married couples had fewer drinks and also drank less frequently than single people.

Exactly how having a ring on your finger cuts your booze intake is not clear – but the researchers suggest that husbands and wives ‘monitor’ each other’s drinking.

The study – which also found the same effect for co-habiting couples – was carried out on 2,425 pairs of identical twins.

This was done to rule out the chance that some might have a genetic bias towards wanting alcohol. The scientists found that cohabiting couples generally drank more frequently than married couples, but less than their single, widowed and divorced counterparts.

The research, published in the Journal of Family Psychology, also showed that once a relationship is over, the newly-single begin drinking more again.

However, while they drink more heavily in a session, they don’t drink more frequently.

Diana Dinescu, a psychologist at the University of Virginia, said the findings showed that ‘intimate relationships cause a decline in alcohol consumption’.

The study follows previous research which found that couples who drink a similar amount are more likely to stay together than those whose drinking habits wildly differ.