Drinking, intimacy, and turbulence in dating and early romantic relationships during young adulthood

Abstract

The culture of alcohol usage in western societies infiltrates almost every aspect of life, including romantic relationships. However, there is minimal research on the impact of drinking in the very early phase of dating relationships. The main objectives of this thesis were to develop greater understanding of the pattern of alcohol usage in the early phase of dating relationships and to explore the consequences of drinking on young adults' relationship quality and subjective experiences. Three studies were performed to address these aims. Study One aimed shed light on the prevalence of alcohol use on dates, the factors that drive individuals' alcohol usage, and the relational impact of such practice. Results from the online questionnaire (n = 282) showed the majority of participants drank on dates. This behaviour was primarily driven by their general drinking tendency and their partners' alcohol usage. The findings also suggest that drinking on dates may affect the level of intimacy experienced by women, but not men. Specifically, women's drinking positively predicted their own feelings of intimacy, but their partners' drinking was negatively associated with women's sense of intimacy. Study Two aimed to extend the findings of the previous study by exploring in depth young adults' experiences on dates using a semi-structured interview approach. A subset of participants from Study One (n = 44) returned for this study. Data were coded and thematically analysed through the lens of the Relational Turbulence Model. Participants expressed an expectation that alcohol usage would have beneficial effects on dating experiences and relationship quality. A range of descriptors of the sense of uncertainty and issues of partner inference that resulted from alcohol usage also emerged from participants' discourse. Together, the results suggested that drinking between dating partners may evoke or reflect turbulence in the relationship. Dating is an interpersonal experience, and the cornerstone of dating research is dyadic investigations. Study Three employed a dyadic design to explore the effects of couples' drinking on both dyad members' feelings of intimacy and experiences of turbulence (n = 66 couples). Results from the paper questionnaire revealed only women's drinking had significant associations with relational outcomes. To the extent that women drank in the absence of their partners, they also reported higher levels of uncertainty. Women's alcohol usage also showed significant relationships with male partners' intimacy. Specifically, men's intimacy was negatively associated with women's alcohol usage outside of the relationship, but was positively associated with women's drinking in their presence. The consistency and discrepancy in the findings across the three studies are discussed. Overall, results demonstrated diverse and complex associations between drinking, intimacy, and turbulence in the early phase of dating relationships. Implications for theories, relationship advisors and dating couples, and future research are provided. An additional study that extends the exploration of dating and relationship experiences to a group of individuals who consumed alcohol at heavy and pathological levels is presented in the Clinical Practicum Appendix.