Couples Are Now Making Agreements About Getting High

"My previous posts on agreements between relationship partners have focused on sexual agreements, the rules or understandings couples form related to sex with partners outside their relationship (Cain & Starks, 2024). Almost two decades of research has examined the types of sexual agreements couples form, challenges with sexual agreement formation, and associations between sexual agreements and sexual behavior outcomes (most notably sexual HIV transmission risk, use of sexual risk reduction strategies, and drug use). Our recent paper (Starks & Cain, 2025), published in Couple and Family Psychology: Research and Practice, extends this work on behavioral agreements to substance use."

"The study utilized data from 50 cisgender adult male couples recruited in New York City before the COVID-19 pandemic (between 2018 and March 2020). In each couple, at least one partner reported using cannabis or an illicit drug at least once in the past month. Both partners reported how often they used drugs and drank alcohol heavily (i.e., more than five drinks in a day) in the past month. In addition, they completed a survey that included measures of substance use-related problems: the Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST-10) (Bohn et al., 1991) and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) (Bohn et al., 1995)."

Fifty cisgender adult male couples were recruited in New York City between 2018 and March 2020. At least one partner in each couple reported cannabis or illicit drug use at least once in the past month. Both partners reported drug use frequency and heavy drinking (more than five drinks in a day) in the past month and completed the DAST-10 and AUDIT to assess substance-related problems. Participants reported whether they discussed concerns about substance use and whether they agreed on limits. Discussing substance use concerns was associated with problematic drug and alcohol use. Agreeing on limits was associated with reductions in problematic substance use and heavy drinking.

Read at Psychology Today