How a spouse's mental health and substance use may affect a partner's drinking problems
Official title: A genetically informative approach to understanding the impact of spousal psychiatric disorders on alcohol use disorder onset, remission, and relapse
Funded at Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences · NIH-11383424 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A study looks at how a spouse’s psychiatric disorders and drinking habits influence when a person starts, stops, or relapses into alcohol use problems within marriage.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Newark, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | August 1, 2023 |
| Project end | June 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $353,250 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AA030996-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11383424 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Individuals in relationships where a spouse has or is at risk for psychiatric disorders or substance use issues, and who are affected by AUD or at risk for AUD.
✕Less likely to help
Spouses or partners without any AUD history or related psychiatric conditions may not directly benefit from this research.
What this research studies
This project uses existing data to explore how a partner’s disorders like depression, anxiety, ADHD, antisocial personality, and other substance use relate to a person’s own alcohol use disorder over time. It considers genetic factors and how a spouse’s genes might affect outcomes, beyond just social influence. The goal is to understand both direct and gene-related effects that could shape AUD onset, remission, and relapse for individuals in long-term partnerships. The research builds on prior findings that spouses’ health histories can impact alcohol problems through multiple pathways, including genetic susceptibility and environmental interactions.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Could lead to better identification of at-risk couples and inform personalized guidance or interventions for preventing AUD onset or relapse.
How similar studies have gone: Past work suggests spousal health influences alcohol outcomes, with ongoing work to disentangle genetic and environmental contributions.
Where this research is happening
-
Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences
Newark, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Salvatore, Jessica E — Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences
- Study coordinator: Salvatore, Jessica E
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
How a spouse's mental health affects alcohol problems during marriage
This project looks at whether a spouse's psychiatric problems or genetic risk change when married people develop, recover from, or relapse into alcohol use disorder.
-
How a spouse's mental health affects their partner's alcohol use problems
This study looks at how one partner's mental health issues or substance use can affect the drinking habits of their spouse, helping us understand how these challenges can influence each other in couples dealing with alcohol use disorder.
-
Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention via Video Calls for Long-Term Recovery from Alcohol Use Disorder
A funded program tests video-delivered mindfulness-based relapse prevention to support adults with alcohol use disorder in achieving long-term recovery.
-
Cognitive Processing Therapy plus Relapse Prevention for people with alcohol problems and PTSD
This trial offers a combined Cognitive Processing Therapy and relapse-prevention program for adults with alcohol use disorder and PTSD to reduce drinking and PTSD symptoms.
-
Personalized relapse risk tool for people with alcohol use disorder
This project aims to build a personalized tool using brain and behavior data plus machine learning to predict relapse risk for adults with alcohol use disorder.
-
Video mindfulness program to support long-term recovery from alcohol use
This offers live video mindfulness sessions as continuing care for adults with alcohol use disorder to help reduce heavy drinking and support recovery.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.