Wives Of Alcoholics Research Articles

A comparison: The treatment of wives of alcoholics with the treatment of wives of pathological gamblers

This study was conducted to determine how treatment approaches would differ for two reference groups — wives of alcoholics and wives of pathological gamblers. Data from thirty-nine wives from each reference group were collected over a period of sixteen months. The results indicate that the wives of the pathological gamblers had to deal with specific issues which did not surface in the treatment of wives of the alcoholics. Some of the wives of the pathological gamblers received threatening phone calls from creditors, had to re-pay loans for which they co-signed, had to commence handling the family budget, and had to deal with their own withdrawal from his gambling. They also found trust very slow in coming, realized they would be under great financial straits for an extended period of time, and found a shortage of self-help groups and qualified professionals within a reasonable distance of their home. Finally they found loneliness a very realistic issue in early abstinence because he was spending so much of his time outside the home attending G.A. meetings, aftercare and working two, and sometimes three jobs, in order to repay his gambling debts.

Cognitive group therapy for wives of alcoholics — A pilot study

This paper reports on the results of group therapy for the wives of alcoholics where the alcoholics themselves were offered no treatment. The reason for running such a group is based on the idea that wives might seek help before their husbands, might attend sessions regularly and by acquiring better knowledge of alcoholism and improving their use of coping strategies might favourably influence their husbands' behaviour. At 6-month follow-up it was evident that coping styles were learned quickly; the sessions also provided support and friendship. Attendance at the group induced change, though not always positive in all marriages. Suggestions for future work are discussed.

Alcohol, Eroticism and Sexual Performance: A Social Interactionist Perspective

Impotence and reduction in libido among chronic alcoholic men has been seen to be primarily caused by physiological changes resulting from constant and heavy drinking. Studies of this phenomenon have focused on males, amount of intake, and the correlation of alcohol ingestion with effects on bodily functions, to the exclusion of three social factors that may be a significant part of the sex act: First, the attitudes and behavior of the sex partner of the drinking male as they affect interaction between the two; second, sexual arousal has been studied as an “encapsulated” act, rather than a part of the process of negotiation between partners which may culminate in intercourse; and third, the focus of research on impotence is restricted to the realm of sexual activity, ignoring other aspects of the relationship an alcoholic may have with his sex partner. Additionally, the sex problems of men in marriages (or with sex partners) where alcohol is not a problem is seldom compared with alcoholic men to see if they differ substantially in this area. In a study designed to explore the impact of these social factors on impotence, 76 wives of alcoholics, 28 alcoholic husbands and a control sample of 63 wives and 46 husbands in marriages where alcohol is not a problem were interviewed in depth about their sexual relationship and about other areas of their marriage which surfaced as the most troublesome for wives of alcoholics—companionship, meals, and recreation. Findings suggest that a good portion of the erotic reduction and performance problems that alcoholic men experience are much more complex than physiological decline alone. A complex amalgam of rejection by their partners, which is influenced by the dynamics of their relationship in other areas of the marriage, as well as their different perspectives on what sort of behavior is a suitable prelude to intercourse can be seen to affect sexual interest and/or performance.

Effects of intoxication on alcoholics' marital communication and problem solving.

The effects of intoxication on the marital interactions of treatment-motivated alcoholics and their nonalcoholic spouses were studied in eight couples (two of which had an alcoholic wife). In half of the sessions, the alcoholics were given enough alcohol to reach a blood level of 10 mg/dl. Couples engaged in three 10-min conflict-resolution discussions of varying intensity counterbalanced for alcohol and no-alcohol sessions. Couples expressed significantly more positive verbalizations in the alcohol sessions than in the no-alcohol sessions. This was true especially for the nonalcoholic spouses, who doubled their rate of positive verbal behavior when interacting with an intoxicated partner. Alcoholics spoke more and tended to make more problem-describing statements while intoxicated than while sober. The alcoholics made a greater number of problem-solving statements than did their spouses. Alcoholics were significantly more negative and less positive in nonverbal behaviors than were their spouses, but neither self-report of marital satisfaction nor observations of verbal behavior reflected this. The models of both social-learning theory and systems theory for the relationship of marital factors to the etiology and maintenance of alcoholism are supported.

Sexual dissatisfaction of female alcoholics.

Four groups of women ( N = 59) were compared on Hudson's Index of Sexual Satisfaction. Alcohol's effect on these women's sexual experience was investigated. Alcoholic women and wives of alcoholics showed significantly more sexual dissatisfaction than normal women and those in treatment for non-alcoholic problems.

Toward a Model for Counseling the Wives of Alcoholics

Earlier literature on the wives of alcoholics confused the causes with the effects of alcoholism. Wives of alcoholics were thought to be highly neurotic contributors to their husbands' illness. Furthermore, sexist biases influenced opinion and research with the result that while wives were blamed for their spouses' illness, husbands of alcoholic wives were considered blameless victims. Despite recent gains in the understanding of alcoholism and its effects on family dynamics, treatment of alcoholic marriages continues to reflect subtle sexist attitudes and values. For example, wives are often viewed as little more than adjuncts to their husbands' treatment. Such approaches undermine reality-centered and effective treatment. A model for counseling wives of alcoholics is proposed which addresses her special and separate concerns.

A treatment program for wives of alcoholics: An evaluation.

A treatment program for wives of alcoholics: An evaluation.

Wives of Alcoholics: The "Forgotten Patients"

Wives of Alcoholics: The "Forgotten Patients"

A closeness to divorce scale for wives of alcoholics

A 15-item Guttman scale, Closeness to Divorce, was developed to describe and quantify how close an alcoholic's wife is to divorce at a given point in time. A detailed precoded interview schedule guided extensive interviews with 60 women, varying in marital status, who were current or former wives of men treated for alcoholism in Veterans Administration Hospitals. The interview contained 24 items on various aspects of marital stability gathered from the literature and from pilot interviews. These items were factor analysed and 15 items, loading 0.40 or better on the first principal component, were chosen for further analysis. A Guttman scale computer program was used to arrange the 15 items to form a Closeness to Divorce Scale, i.e. a unidimensional, cumulative scale with divorce at the endpoint and sequential psychological, interpersonal, geographic and legal steps toward divorce as the other items. Preliminary evidence of construct validity, potential clinical and research uses for the scale, its limitations, and suggestions for future studies are described.

Marital stability among wives of alcoholics: an evaluation of three explanations.

SummarySixty women currently or formerly married to alcoholics were interviewed in order to assess the stressfulness of their marriage, stressfulness of their childhoods, and their closeness to divorce. In support of sociological predictions, the more stressful the marriage the closer the wife was to divorce. Contrary to psychoanalytic predictions, personality disturbance, indexed by stressfulness of childhood, did not correlate with closeness to divorce. Factor analytically derived subscales of marital and childhood stressors showed a significant psychosocial interaction; wives shy as children were more likely than their more outgoing counterparts to endure their husbands' verbal abuse of them and their children. In addition, influence by others to separate, positive attitudes toward divorce, fear of violence, and little or no good period early in marriage all correlated positively with closeness to divorce. Possible alternative explanations for the present results and needed future research are discussed.

The "Home Treatment": The First Steps in Trying to Cope with an Alcoholic Husband

Seventy-six wives of alcoholics were interviewed in depth concerning how they acted once they were certain their husbands had a drinking problem. Findings indicate that long before the husband seeks professional help, his wife is attempting to treat his alcoholism at home through a sequence of strategies which reflect her changing beliefs about the nature of alcoholism, her assessment of her current relationship with her husband, and her reaction to the failure of her most recent attempt to cope with this problem. Some of these wives' unsuccessful attempts at home treatment may be the behavior which professionals often view as pathological. Additionally, the home treatment represents strategies of amelioration under stress which probably contribute to such stress as well.

The Influence of Al-Anon on the Coping Behavior of Wives of Alcoholics

Whether or not their husbands stop drinking, wives of alcoholics who belong to Al-Anon can modify such counterproductive “coping” as providing the drinker with a safe environment and attempting to control the drinker.

Degree of sobriety in male alcoholics and coping styles used by their wives.

The 'Coping With Drinking' questionnaire, administered to 124 A1-anon members, was factor analyzed and revealed nine identifiable styles of coping. Multiple regression analyses between three measures of sobriety and each of the nine styles of coping factors provide support for the general hypothesis that the coping styles used by wives of alcoholics are related to drinking outcome. Further, those modes of coping in which the wife communicates her feelings of distress and frustration to the drinking husband in a way which is minimally threatening for him seem to be most positively related to his attainment of sobriety.

Wives of alcoholics as "repeaters".

Wives of alcoholics as "repeaters".

THE USEFULNESS OF THE DISEASE CONCEPT OF ALCOHOLISM IN WORKING WITH WIVES OF ALCOHOLICS

Seen as a primary disease, alcoholism is treated directly and explicitly, with the recognition and cooperation of the patient. It is important for family and friends to understand the illness in this context also, in order to open up possibilities of coping with its impact on their lives. A grounding in the disease concept of alcoholism can offer social workers the basis for forging useful therapeutic interventions that are in harmony with the support of the self-help Al-Anon family groups. A combined approach offers the best hope of changing family interaction.

Personality of wives of alcoholics

Personality of wives of alcoholics

Self-reported coping behavior of wives of alcoholics and its association with drinking outcome.

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.

An Alternative Role for the Wife of an Alcoholic in Finland

This paper describes wives oqf alcoholics in Finland who create independent existences for themselves while remaining married. Data gathered through intensive interviews with 75 wives of alcoholics in Helsinki indicate that although all spouses attempt to help their husbands stop drinking, 40 per cent escape an existence of increasing isolation and despair when he continues to imbibe. This substantial minority experiences a change in perspective. Such wives increase work and hobby skills, gain job promotions, schedule their time to avoid contact with husbands, making their own friends and social plans. Husbands attempting sobriety after this development may find wives torn between marital duty and this separate existence.

Wives of Alcoholics; a Critical Review and Analysis

Wives of Alcoholics; a Critical Review and Analysis

The alcoholic's wife and her conflicting roles. II. A follow-up study.

This follow-up study is concerned with the prognosis of roles and symptom-formation in a group of twelve wives of alcoholics 2 1/2–3 years after their first admittance to our psychiatric department. Our first study offered evidence for an understanding of these women's role transition from “rescuer”, “dummy” or “alcoholic” to “patient” as a result of an alteration in their present relationships and/or internal psychological situation in the direction of an intolerable role, that of the “persecutor”. The follow-up study further confirms these findings. Women in the “rescuer”-role were asymptomatic. Women with symptoms (in the “patient” or the “persecutor” role) still seemed to be caught in a human role web where they had no opportunity to return into the “rescuer” role. This seemed to be due partly to their husbands' worsening behaviour, and partly to a “wife-rescuer” still operating, trying to force the wives into a “persecutor” role vis-à-vis their husbands.