The Price of Partnership: Quality of Life Issues Faced by Spouses of Alcohol-Dependent Individuals

Abstract

Background: Spouses of individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD) experience significant psychological effects due to their partner’s drinking. A critical but often overlooked factor affecting both partners’ mental health is the quality of their marriage. Alcohol addiction impacts not only the addict but also those living with them. Intimate partner violence is more prevalent when alcohol consumption reaches dangerous levels. Heavy drinking often leads to unhappy and stressful relationships, increasing the risk of conflict and violence. This fact sheet reviews existing knowledge on how alcohol contributes to intimate partner violence and highlights the associated risks for the victimized partner, their children, and other family members, including personal, social, vocational, psychological, and mental health issues. Aim: This review study aimed to examine the impact of alcohol use on the quality of life of spouses. Literature was reviewed both manually and through electronic resources like PubMed and Google Scholar. Result: Most participants were women, as no studies focused exclusively on men. The research utilized well-established Quality of Life tools based on various philosophical and theoretical perspectives. The majority of studies found that spouses of alcohol users experienced a lower quality of life. Conclusions: The review concluded that spouses of individuals with alcohol use disorders had significantly poorer quality of life compared to the general population. The primary factor associated with this low quality of life was being the spouse of an alcoholic.