We first examined the relationship between marital status and heavy episodic drinking, and we found no association. Our null effect is surprising, as previous research demonstrated a protective effect of marriage on alcohol use (Bachman et al., 1984; Grant et al., 2015; Leonard & Rothbard, 1999). These contradictory results could be due to discrepancies in sample characteristics, as previous research typically focused on midlife or age-mixed (e.g., Dinescu et al., 2016; Heath et al., 1989; Horn et al., 2013; Kendler et al., 2016), population- or community-based samples (e.g., Bachman et al., 1984; Horn et al., 2013; Kendler et al., 2016; Leonard & Rothbard, 1999). In contrast, the present study included a sample of young adults enriched for risk.
