SYMLOG-RESEARCH ON FAMILIES WITH ALCOHOLI C FATHERS - THE BEHAVIOR TOWARDS RESPONSIBILITY WITHIN THE PARENTAL DYADE

In the ''Odenwald Study'' interactional behaviour within 126 families was described by employing the SYMLOG methodological inventory and the family climate scales from a self-perspective. Families with a male a lcoholic indexpatient (40/29; first measurement/repeated measurement) were compared to a clinical control group of families with eating diso rders (49) and to a non-clinical group (37). Measurements at three dif ferent time points were taken to reflect the intra-family relations of the alcoholic patient's family prior to treatment of the alcoholic fa ther, with termination of treatment and after an approximately six mon th post-treatment catamnesis. The alcoholic fathers behaviour towards responsibility as observed from families perspective significantly cha nged with the course of therapy, exhibiting a significant increase bet ween the onset and the termination of therapy. At the time of catamnes is tendencies of regression are evident. Likewise, the difference in a cceptance of responsibility behaviour between fathers and mothers was significantly diminished from T1 to T2. A comparison to the non-clinic al group underlines these results. Women from the alcoholic patients g roup exhibited no significant changes of acceptance of responsibility during the course of therapy. Furthermore, they differed at no timepoi nt from the group of non-clinical wives.