A study of the family during separation from and reunion with an alcoholic husband
Date
1967
Authors
Noller, Charles Geoffrey
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Abstract
Previous research has shown that the family system
can undergo considerable reorganisation as a result of
'crisis’ experiences, and that the extent of the distress
experienced by members is related not only to the severity
of the crisis, but also to the resources which the family
has at its disposal for adapting to the crisis, and to
the family members' perception of the crisis event.
The hospitalisation and the return of an alcoholic
husband were taken as examples of the application of
stress to the family system. Research on families in
crisis has concentrated upon situations of financial
deprivation and war separation. While the hospitalisation
of mental patients has been investigated, in such studies
the emphasis has not been upon the family. The present
study was of an exploratory nature, with the aim of
seeking to establish regularities within the adaptation
patterns of the families and illustrate their relationship
to the changes in the drinking patterns of the alcoholic
husbands. Previous reports on the adaptation of the
families to the 'crisis' of economic depression and war
separation were used to obtain indications of factors
important to the adaptation of families to stressors.
In constructing a picture of the family in 'crisis',
the following sources of data were used:
1. Questionnaires and scales - these were used to
measure spouse perceptions, attitudes of family members to alcohol-related issues, structural and syntality
variables relating to the family, marital adjustment,
personality dimensions of the spouses, involvement in
role-tasks, participation in the society, and sources
of conflict.
2. Sociometric devices - to determine the degree of
emotional involvement of members in the family, and
relationships between family members.
3« Interview material - this material was obtained
in a loosely structured interview. Questions focussed on
family functioning and modes of adjustment.
4. Case material - while not providing the basis of
the study, case material was used to illustrate and
illuminate the trends which emerged from other data. It
was also used to provide correlates for quantitative
changes on individual and family dimensions.
Two groups of alcoholic patients, all of whom were
husbands in intact families, were taken. In the first
group (Group 1 ) the patients were admitted for three weeks
to a hospital a few miles from their homes. Husbands in
the other sample (Group 2) were admitted for three months
to country mental hospitals, so that, with the exception
of letters, isolation from the family was virtually
complete. Regular contact (visits by the author about
every six weeks) was maintained with the alcoholics and
their families for between eleven and fifteen months after
the hospitalisation of the husband,
There was little difference between Group 1 and
Group 2 husbands on variables considered to be related to
the degree of pathology exhibited, but there were differences between Group 1 and Group 2 families. In
comparison with Group 1, Group 2 wives were more ready to
initiate hospitalisation of the husband, saw their husbands
and their marital situations as less desirable, were less
optimistic of their husbands’ being cured, less concerned
for their husbands’ health, and yet more indulgent to
their deviant drinking behaviour.
It was found that in terms of the spouses’ attitudes
to the family and to alcohol-related issues, there was
little long term change as a result of the husband’s period
in hospital. Considerable short term change was displayed
by Group 1 husbands for a period after discharge, but the
change was not maintained. The small long term changes
which did occur bore little relation to the husbands’
change in behaviour.
Modification in the structure of the family during
the absence of the husband was also minor. In Group 2,
where the husband was absent for a long period, those
wives not already working sought at least part-time
employment, and there was a tendency to neglect those
household tasks traditionally the husband’s. Where there
were older children in the family these spent more time
in looking after younger siblings. Children carried out
more of the household tasks (cooking, cleaning and washing
up) than they did before the father's absence. Despite
the general stability of role structure in the families,
there was a considerable amount of difficulty experienced
by the wives when coping in the separation situation.
The factor reported as causing the most difficulty was
inadequate finance, although the situation in most families
was judged not to be critical by the author. In Group 2, the absence of the husband failed to lead to greater
unity of effort or cohesion among remaining family
members. In Group 1, however, where the husband was
already at home when the retest of group characteristics
was made, there was an increase in cohesion, and a
significant number of families showed increased unity
of effort.
Families displayed a high level of conflict at
hospitalisation. The main sources of conflict were the
husband's drinking pattern, financial matters, (lack of)
recreation, health (of the husband), and sexual
adjustment. By the end of the study the level of
conflict was reduced, possibly because the visits of the
author facilitated discussion of areas of conflict.
Conflict in the family at hospitalisation was related to
a low level of united family effort to achieve goals,
and a low level of cohesion.
Husbands gave more favourable reports concerning
their own personality characteristics, and the situation
in the home at hospitalisation, than did the wives. They
reported less conflict, better marital adjustment and a
greater degree of happiness. Attitudes of the children
to the father either agreed with those of the wife or fell
between those of husband and wife. In attitudes to their
parents, children in no case agreed with their fathers,
although a number agreed with their mothers. Many of the
families displayed a schism, with the husband a virtual
isolate with regard to emotional integration, and failing
to perform his role tasks adequately.
Husbands were in conflict with adolescent children,
particularly sons. The main source of conflict was the husband's contention that the children were indulged to
an extent far exceeding that which the husband experienced
in childhood. While there may have been some truth in
this claim, the husbands themselves were spoiled and
'mothered' by their wives. Many of the wives in this
study appeared to have strong needs to 'mother' and
organise.
While conflict in the families was at a high level,
there were no effective efforts to reduce this. Little
conflict resolution was attempted by discussion. The
wives were the decision makers, and if they appeared to
give in when arguing with the husband it was for 'peace
and quiet'. The wives took the responsibility of
representing the family to the community and of making
plans affecting the families. This situation existed
throughout the study.
The families were isolated from the society, having
little contact with relatives, and few effective friends.
Stigma was not experienced as a result of the husband's
admission to hospital, but the wives were embarrassed and
ashamed of their husbands’ behaviour when drinking. With
the husband absent, Group 2 wives spent more time at home
with the family, and less in activities with family members
outside the home. At the same point of time, with the
husbands at home, Group 1 families showed an increase of
social activities outside the home, and a slight
reduction in home-centred activity. At the end of the
study Group 2 wives displayed increased social activities
outside the home, and reduced home-centred activity. The
return of the husband did not mean an independence of
social service benefits, since some husbands did not work, or deserted the home, and patients who were eligible for
Repatriation benefits returned to hospital rather than
remain in the home.
The departure and return of the alcoholic husband
did not lead to major reorganisation in the study
families. It was shown that these families had already,
before the study, adapted to the husbands’ malfunctioning,
and exhibited role dislocation. Thus his absence
necessitated little further role disruption. The
families nevertheless experienced stress, but this
appeared to result from the low level of family resources
available to cope with the stressor.
Data from the study were factor-analysed and from
family factor scores, a family typology was derived.
One type was approximately equivalent to Group 2 (Type A ) ,
one to Group 1 families with children (Type B), and one to
Group 1 families without children (Type C).
During the complete study there was little
modification of the husbands’ drinking behaviour, so that
it was difficult to relate this to other factors in the
families. Improvement in the behaviour was related to the
readiness of the husband to admit the fact and consequences
of his drinking behaviour.
It was concluded that neither the anxiety and low
self-evaluation characteristic of the alcoholic, nor his
deviant pattern of drinking were significantly modified
by hospitalisation. The families did not require radical
reorganisation in order to function during the absence of
the husband, since much reorganisation, with the
transferral of instrumental tasks to the wife, had preceded the hospitalisation* The families nevertheless
experienced difficulty in coping during the separation»
These families lacked the strong family resources shown
by other studies to assist in meeting crises* They were
of low morale, and members were frustrated and confused
by the behaviour of the husbands, and by the lack of
acceptable, established societal patterns of dealing
with the problem.
In the present study role disruption was shown to be
not the basic stressor and this fact was related to the
extent of role dislocation in the families at the
beginning of the study, and the low level of resources
in the families.
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