Couples who get drunk together stay together, study says

Having trouble in your marriage? Drinking alcohol may help, a study suggests.

In a study published by The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Series, researchers found that older married couples who drink alcohol together tend to be happier--especially wives, Reuters reports.

Based on data from people over the age of 50, married couples tend to be less happy when only one partner drinks, and shared drinking habits have an impact on the relationship.

Research also showed that wives particularly had more "dissatisfaction" when only one person in the relationship drinks, the study states. Husbands are more likely to drink than wives.

Study author Kira Birditt of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor said to Reuters that couples who abstain from alcohol also have healthier relationships, and "drinking might not be the only reason couples are getting along."

“The study shows that it’s not about how much they’re drinking, it’s about whether they drink at all,” Birditt said to Reuters. “We’re not sure why this is happening, but it could be that couples that do more leisure time activities together have better marital quality.”