In the introduction of this article the author states some very interesting points. He explains it is common sense that alcohol and drug abuse lead to marital problems. In early studies of divorce, the husband's alcohol use tended to give a reason for the breakup of the marriage. It was found that drug and alcohol abuse are the third most common reason for divorce, which clearly made sense of why the rates of separation are higher among alcoholics, than the general population. Although it is not hard to see why excessive drinking leads to divorce, the author explains that it is hard to find support for this claim. A lot of genetic studies have found that there is a genetic risk for alcohol disorders which create negative personality factors. Negative personality factors lead to negative emotion which creates marital distress for the couple. The author is conducting the research to examine if alcohol, marijuana, and cigarette use are predictors of divorce among couples in their first marriage. I believe the author clearly describes the purpose of the experiment, but the hypothesis not as much. The reason being is he tells the reader directly what the purpose of the experiment is going to be and clearly states what their goal is. The hypothesis is more hinted than clearly stated. I think the hypothesis does make sense however. This section convinced me that this is a meaningful subject. The reason is because I will one day be married, and I would like to know what causes divorce, that way I can try my best to prevent it from happening. .
The author conducted a longitudinal study over 9 years with 634 newlywed couples. The average age of the males was 28 and the average age for the females was 26. The method used in this study I believe is the self-report method. Some procedures in the study included a 5-10 minute paid interview, which covered questions of substance abuse and demographic factors.