Feds spend $911,056 studying the drinking habits of lesbian couples
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The National Institutes of Health is spending nearly $1 million on a study of lesbian couples to see if stress makes them drink too much.
The grant awarded to Old Dominion University will involve lesbians filling out daily diaries about their romantic relationships to determine what causes them to drink.
“Sexual minority women (i.e., women who self-identify as lesbian and bisexual) report more heavy drinking, more alcohol-related problems, and higher rates of alcohol use disorders as compared to heterosexual women,” according to the grant for the study. “Young sexual minority women are particularly vulnerable.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The researchers contend that no one has ever studied the relationships of lesbian couples and their drinking habits.
“Despite this awareness, no studies have examined how relationship factors and partners’ alcohol use contribute to hazardous drinking among female sexual minority couples,” the grant said.