put individuals at greater risk for problematic alcohol use (Kendler et al., 2016; Leonard & Eiden, 2007). This suggests that individuals who are at higher risk for problematic alcohol use, like many of those in the present sample, are at increased risk of choosing partners with higher levels of alcohol use. Thus, the absence of a protective marriage effect in our sample may reflect that marriage to a partner with problematic alcohol use undermines the protective effect of marriage (Kendler et al., 2016).
