The married people or the people who are cohabitating usually drinks less both in amount and frequency, according to the study conducted by University of Virginia. On the other hand, the study states, that the singles are more inclined towards drinking more often and in larger quantities.

Lead Study author Diana Dinescu said, “Intimate relationships cause a decline in alcohol consumption.”

For the study Dinescu along with her colleagues examined 2,425 same-sex twin pairs to find out whether these findings held up among people who share genetic and familial backgrounds.

Dinescu said, “It is impossible to tell from co-relational research whether marital status has a protective effect, or whether people who naturally drink less simply are more likely to get married.”

“By using twins, our study allows us to eliminate entire classes of alternative explanations, such as genetic predispositions and upbringing influences, and brings us a step closer to understanding the true impact of relationships on drinking behavior,” she added.

The team also compared married twins with their single, divorced and cohabitating co-twins on drinking frequency and quantity. They found that the married co-twins consumed less alcohol than their divorces or single co-twins and drank less frequently.

The study also revealed that post breakup, people may start to drink heavy in a session, but not necessarily more frequently.

“It is useful to look at drinking frequency and quantity separately, as we believe they are fundamentally different behaviors in both intention and venue. Our data revealed an interesting pattern where, once you're in a committed relationship, your drinking frequency declines permanently, whereas quantity goes back up if you exit that relationship,” said Diana.

She further added, “It seems that intimate relationships may provide a real benefit in terms of drinking behavior, maybe through mechanisms such as a monitoring effect that partners have on each other.”

By Prajakt K.