Drinking, intimacy, and turbulence in dating and early romantic relationships during young adulthood

The culture of alcoho l usage in western societies in filtrates almost every aspect of Ii fe , including romantic relationships. Popul ar media and the literature suggest that the prevalent use of alcohol between roman ti cally-linked couples has the potential to affect their relationship quality and ex periences. However, there is minimal research on the impact of drinking in the very early phase of dating relationships. Earl y romanti c courtship is marked by intense emotional volati lity and high vulnerabi lity to dissolution, and can affect the course of relationship development. As such, the impacts of alcohol, whether positi ve or negative, on relat ionship quality and experience during thi s early phase of relationship development wan ant further investigation. The main object ives of this thesis were to develop greater understanding of the pattern of alcohol usage in the early phase of dating relati onships and to ex pl ore the consequences of drinking on young ad ults' relationship quality and subjective experiences. Three studi es were perfo nned to address these ai ms. Stud y One aimed to shed light on the prevalence of alcohol use on dates, the facto rs that dri ve indi viduals' alcoho l usage, and the relational impact of such practice. Results from the on line questionnaire (n = 282) showed the majority ofp a11i cipants drank on dates. This behaviour was primari ly dri ven by their general drinking tendency and their pa11ners ' alcoho l usage. The findings also suggest that drinking on dates may affect the level of intimacy ex pe1ienced by women , but no t men. Specifi ca ll y, women 's drinking positi vely predicted their own feelings of intimacy, but their partners' drinking was negatively associated with women 's sense of intimacy. DRINKING, INTIMACY & TURBULENCE IV Study Two aimed to extend the findings of the previous study by exploring in depth young adults' experiences on dates using a semi-structured interview approach. A subset of participants from Study One (n = 44) returned for this study. Data were coded and thematically analysed through the lens of the Relational Turbulence Model. Participants expressed an expectation that alcohol usage would have beneficial effects on dating experiences and relationship quality. A range of descriptors of the sense of uncertainty and issues of partner inference that resulted from alcohol usage also emerged from paiiicipants' discourse. Together, the results suggested that drinking between dating partners may evoke or reflect turbulence in the relationship. Dating is an interpersonal experience, and the cornerstone of dating research is dyadic investigations. Study Three employed a dyadic design to explore the effects of couples' drinking on both dyad members ' feelings of intimacy and experiences of turbulence (n = 66 couples). Results from the paper questionnaire revealed only women's drinking had significant associations with relational outcomes. To the extent that women drank in the absence of their partners, they also reported higher levels of uncertainty. Women 's alcohol usage also showed significant relationships with male partners ' intimacy. Specifically, men 's intimacy was negatively associated with women's alcohol usage outside of the relationship, but was positively associated with women's drinking in their presence. The consistency and discrepancy in the findings across the three studies are discussed. Overall, results demonstrated diverse and complex associations between drinking, intimacy, and turbulence in the early phase of dating relationships . Implications for DRJNK ING, INTIMACY & TURBULENCE theories , relati onship advisors and dating couples, and future research are provided. An additional study that extends the exploration of dating and rel at ionship experiences to a group of indi viduals who consumed alcohol at heavy and pathological levels is presented in the Clinical Practicum Appendi x. V DRINKING, INTIMACY & TURBULENCE Vl