In a long-term marriage,  men tend to drink less than they did while single. That's good.  But women drink more, say sociologists. 

The results are based on surveys and interviews, so calibrate your science expectations accordingly, but the idea that married men consume the lowest number of drinks (versus single, divorced and widowed men) leads to a few questions: Do men drink less because their wives nag them? Do men drink less because their wives get to the good booze first?
 
Neither.  Married women drink more than they did while single but still less than men so married men drink less to match that. It's why any men watch "Dancing With The Stars" too. After they get a divorce (though Barbara Boxer claims only Republicans get divorced, which shows you why no one is surprised how anti-science she is - but she has been married for 50 years so she has that going for her) they drink more. Married women drink more than divorced women. Men get the blame for that also.

They used the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study to find trends in marriage and alcohol. They also analyzed data from two in-depth interview studies, the Marital Quality Over the Life Course Project, conducted between 2003-2006, and the Relationships and Health Habits Over the Life Course Study, conducted between 2007-2010.

The researchers also found that:

• In each marital status category, men consumed a greater average number of drinks than women.

• Across every marital status category, a higher proportion of men than women also reported having at least one drinking-related problem.

• Recently divorced men reported consuming a significantly greater average number of drinks than men in long-term marriages.

• Reporting at least one drinking-related problem was significantly higher among long-term divorced and recently divorced women than long-term married women.

The researchers gauged alcohol consumption by total number of drinks consumed in a month.

The researchers want future analysis of surveys to focus on how widowhood shapes alcohol use over time, as well as explore alcohol use differences across race and ethnicity.

Presented at the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association. Authors are Corinne Reczek, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Cincinnati; Tetyana Pudrovska, an assistant professor of sociology and demography at The Pennsylvania State University; Deborah Carr, a professor of sociology at Rutgers University; and Debra Umberson, a professor of sociology at University of Texas at Austin.