Longitudinal data on 267 married couples are used to examine the interrelationships among predisposing factors, stress, moderating factors, and subsequent functioning. A model of the stress process that considers spouse symptoms and coping was estimated separately for three functioning criteria (depressed mood, physical symptoms, and alcohol, consumption) and across gender groups. Predisposing factors such as low social status and poor initialfunctioning were related to higher levels of stress. Women were more responsive to stressors and social resources (family support) than were men. The stress-illness relationship was strengthened by the use of avoidance coping responses, particularly if both partners relied on avoidance coping. There were no stress-buffering effects offamily support. The associations between self-esteem, coping responses, and later functioning depended on the partner's corresponding coping levels. These findings underscore the value of considering a significant other's symptoms and behavior as salient aspects of the stress process.

The role of predisposing and moderating factors in the stress-illness relationship.

Children of alcoholics during the recovery process: alcoholic 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.

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

The frequency of the use of coping behavior by wives of alcoholics was found to be related to their husband's drinking outcome. In general, a high frequency of coping behavior was associated with a poor outcome, but some components of coping behavior were more likely than others to be linked with a poor prognosis.

Patricia Edwards

Papers

Wives of alcoholics. A critical review and analysis.