Families of recovering women alcoholics: A qualitative analysis of roles, rules, and rituals.
Item
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Title
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Families of recovering women alcoholics: A qualitative analysis of roles, rules, and rituals.
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Identifier
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AAI9315504
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identifier
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9315504
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Creator
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Smith, Kathleen Maurer.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Gerald Handel
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Date
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1993
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Sociology, General | Sociology, Individual and Family Studies | Women's Studies | Health Sciences, Mental Health
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Abstract
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This study is a qualitative analysis of intact families of recovering women alcoholics. Four families with women alcoholics who occupied the wife/mother role and who have been in recovery for at least four years were examined using the case study method. The data were collected through extensive interviews with the recovering women and their family members. Since the alcoholic's family had organized its roles around having a wife/mother who was an active alcoholic, and had developed rules and rituals to reinforce the family's role relationships, when the alcoholic made an effort to recover, these roles, rules, and rituals had to be revised. The findings indicated that, in all of the families, it was the alcoholic woman who finally initiated her own successful recovery. This involved the acceptance of the label of "alcoholic" in order for ongoing recovery to be possible. For all of these women, professional help and/or peer support from outside the family was necessary in order to sustain the recovery. The study also found that, after recovery, both formal and informal roles went through a transition from negative to positive interaction. Family rules became more flexible, less rigid, and were based on more trust and more open communication, especially with regard to feelings. With regard to rituals, the study found that, except for less emotional enmeshment, and less frequent getting together for family functions, the formal ritual behaviors did not change a great deal when the alcoholic woman recovered. What did change was that the tension and anxiety which previously had surrounded these rituals diminished, and openness, enjoyment, and spontaneity increased.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
