Impact of partner drinking on illicit drug use: Findings from NESARC

Research on risk factors for substance use often focuses only on individual-level factors and fails to consider risk imparted from the social network. Among adult couples, partners can be a risk factor for each other's substance use. Using two assessments from NESARC, a nationally representative sample of 43,000 adults, this work examined illicit drug use (including prescription drug misuse) among four groups of individuals who are married or living as if married to: a stable problem drinker, a new onset problem drinker, recovered problem drinker, or a stable non-problem drinker (individuals needed to remain married or living as if married to the same person). The past year prevalence of illicit drug use among individuals married to a stable non-problem drinker was 5.1% compared to 13.0% for individuals married to a stable problem drinker. Individuals whose partners had an onset of problem drinking had a past year prevalence of illicit drug use of 8.8% whereas those whose partners remitted had the highest rates of illicit drug use (19.3%). After controlling for sociodemographics and prior drug use, individuals whose partners had a new onset of problem drinking were significantly more likely to use illicit drugs compared to individuals whose partners were not problem drinkers. Importantly, individuals whose partners had a new onset of alcohol problems were as likely to use illicit drugs as those who maintained a relationship with a stable problem drinker. Failing to consider the influence of an intimate partner can be a barrier to successful prevention and intervention efforts.