Romantic relationships have an impact on both partners health and well-being, however, much remains unknown regarding how health behaviors are shaped in the early stages of dating. The developmental time of emerging adulthood targets an age group where romantic relationships and alcohol use commonly intersect and may contribute to lifelong patterns of use. This study utilized novel research methodology of combining new couple’s text messages during the early stages of dating (<6 months) with survey data as well as advanced statistical methods (i.e., Actor Partner Interdependence Model) to examine how emerging adult couples text messaging about alcohol early in their romantic relationships impacted each partner intra- and interpersonally in terms of alcohol use and attitudes. Additionally, using the moderated Actor-Partner Interdependence Model this study examined how relationship factors (i.e., relationship power and relationship satisfaction) linked to health outcomes and engagement in risk behavior moderated these relationships. Results indicated that text messages between partners about alcohol were significantly positively correlated with alcohol use, but not attitudes, and in a dyadic context text messages predicted one’s own frequency of alcohol use but not their partners. Moderation analyses were underpowered due to a small sample size. These findings indicate that communication about alcohol via text messages may play an important role in frequency of alcohol use among early dating couples, particularly on one’s own behavior. Research and clinical implications of this work are also discussed.
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