A study of more than 300,000 couples in Sweden finds marriage to a spouse who grew up exposed to parental alcohol misuse increases a person’s likelihood of developing a drinking problem.

The causes of AUD are complex and can include a mix of genetic, environmental, and social factors, including a family history of alcoholism. This familial effect, however, may be more complicated than first assumed.

New research published in the journal Psychological Science has uncovered a previously unrecognized family connection to AUD: the drinking habits of a person’s in-laws. This study suggests that marriage to a spouse who as a child was exposed to parental alcohol misuse increases that person’s likelihood of developing AUD, even if the spouse does not have a drinking disorder.

«Our goal here was to examine whether a spouse’s genetic makeup influences risk for AUD,» said Jessica Salvatore, an assistant professor of psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University, and lead author on the paper. «In a somewhat surprising twist, we found that it wasn’t the spouse’s genetic makeup that influenced AUD risk. Rather, it was whether the spouse was raised by an AUD-affected parent.»

The researchers analyzed marital information on more than 300,000 couples in Swedish national population registries, finding that marriage to a spouse with a predisposition toward alcohol use disorder increased risk for developing AUD. This increased risk was not explained by socioeconomic status, the spouse’s AUD status, nor contact with the spouse’s parents. Instead, the researchers found that, rather than genetics, this increased risk reflected the psychological consequences of the spouse having grown up with an AUD-affected parent.

«Growing up with an AUD-affected parent might teach people to act in ways that reinforce a spouse’s drinking problem,» said Salvatore. «For example, taking care of a spouse when they have a hangover.»

The study’s findings underscore the pernicious and long-lasting impact of growing up with a parent with AUD, extending even to the spouses of their adult children.

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