We addressed three questions to further understand the magnitude and nature of the association between lifetime AUD and divorce in a nationally representative Swedish twin and sibling pair sample. We examined the association between AUD and divorce at the population level; conducted a univariate analysis of divorce; and then used a bivariate model to estimate the degree to which genetic and environmental factors accounted for the association between AUD and divorce. Consistent with previous epidemiological findings (1), we found in the Swedish general population born 1940–1965 that lifetime divorce and AUD were positively associated (rtet: +0.44 for males and +0.37 for females). Thus, those with a lifetime history of divorce are more likely to have an AUD diagnosis (and vice versa), and this association is stronger in males than females. The stronger association between lifetime AUD and divorce for males compared to females diverges from previous work where the association was of similar magnitude across sexes (22).
