A Dyadic Investigation of Perceptions of Romantic Partners' Problematic Alcohol Use

Given that romantic partners are often the first to identify their partners' alcohol-related problems, we sought to ascertain the perceptual processes that contribute to partner perceptions of an individual's alcohol-related problems and whether these processes systematically differ across gender. We assessed couples' (N = 168) perceptions of their own and their partners' alcohol-related problems. A dyadic multilevel model guided by the truth, and a bias model of judgement was conducted with gender as a moderator. Perceivers were accurate in their estimations of their partners' alcohol-related problems. However, men significantly underestimated their partners' alcohol-related problems. Perceivers showed greater accuracy in their perceptions of their partners' alcohol-related problems when they themselves reported more alcohol-related problems compared to when they reported fewer alcohol-related problems. Partners' biased perceptions may limit the identification of at-risk individuals. Future research should investigate the individual and couple-based consequences of accurate and biased perceptions of alcohol-related problems.