The process of recovery from alcoholism: III. Comparing functioning in families of alcoholics and matched control families.

Families of recovered (N = 54) and relapsed (N = 51) alcoholic patients were studied 2 yr after the patients completed residential treatment and were compared with sociodemographically matched families of community controls (N = 105) on three sets of family-functioning indices--role functioning, family environment and husband-wife congruence. Families of recovered patients were functioning as well as families of controls. Families of relapsed patients showed less cohesion, expressiveness and recreational orientation, and lower agreement about their family environment than matched families of recovered patients and of community controls, and reported more family arguments than families of recovered patients. They also showed altered role functioning, the nonalcoholic spouse performing more household tasks and the alcoholic partner performing fewer. Family functioning was affected by the adequacy of the alcoholic partner's adaptation, and by life events, stressors and spouse's level of dysfunction.