title: Using multiple methods to examine gender differences in alcohol involvement and marital interactions in alcoholic probands.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study examined gender differences in alcohol involvement and marital interactions among probands with a past 1-year alcohol use disorder (AUD).
  
  
  METHODS
  Adults with alcohol dependence (37 males and 17 females) and their spouses were recruited from a local substance abuse treatment center and from the local community. Couples completed a series of self-report measures and a 15-min videotaped marital interaction task that was coded for negative and positive behaviors and sequential interactions. Couples also separately called in to an interactive voice response (IVR) system every night for 14 consecutive nights and reported on their spouse's negative and positive marital behaviors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared to male probands, female probands reported a) more negative marital interactions in the previous month; b) higher levels of negative reciprocity and a lower positive-to-negative ratio in the marital interaction task; and c) more daily and nightly marital conflict over the 14-day diary period. Negative marital behaviors in the evening by female spouses were associated with higher odds of intoxication among male probands on the following day. In contrast, a) negative marital behaviors by male spouses were cross-sectionally associated with higher odds of intoxication among female probands within the same day; and b) positive marital behaviors by male spouses during the day were associated with lower odds of intoxication among female probands that night.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Marital conflict, assessed via multiple methods over multiple time scales, appears to be more frequent among female compared to male alcoholics. Marital conflict predicts daily intoxication among male and female probands.
authors.affiliation: Addiction Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Rachel Upjohn Building, 4250 Plymouth Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2700, United States. Electronic address: jcranfor@med.umich.edu.
authors.forename: James A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Cranford
authors.affiliation: University of Connecticut, Department of Community Medicine and Health Care, University of Connecticut Health Center, 263 Farmington Avenue, MC 6325, Farmington, CT 06030-6325, United States.
authors.forename: Howard
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tennen
authors.affiliation: Addiction Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Rachel Upjohn Building, 4250 Plymouth Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2700, United States.
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Zucker
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D054541:Family Conflict / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012737:Sex Factors; D018454:Spouses / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
keywords: Alcohol and marital interaction; Behavioral observation and daily diaries; Multi-method assessment of alcoholic couples