Family context, represented by marital status and children, differentiated high-risk drinking and both types of remission from persistent AUD. A smaller proportion of the persistent AUD group had ever been married or had children compared to high-risk drinkers, remitted low-risk drinkers, and abstainers. This difference is consistent with evidence that heavy drinkers are more likely to delay marriage and children, or to remain single, than individuals who do not drink heavily (Chilcoat and Breslau, 1996; Waldron et al., 2008), or to transition out of heavy drinking as they adopt changing adult roles (Miller-Tutzauer et al., 1991). Similarly, the birth of first child among women who became remitted low-risk drinkers is consistent with adult role transitions and with natural recovery (Dawson et al., 2006; Russell et al., 2001; Sobell et al., 2000), suggesting a group of individuals adjusting their drinking habits to new roles, largely without formal treatment. Abstinent individuals were less likely to have a first child than individuals with AUD, possibly reflecting their older age and, also, the higher likelihood among women of being stably separated or divorced. The
