Family of origin and current relationship influences on codependency.

This study investigated codependency in Caucasian individuals within the framework of Bowen's Family Systems Theory. The sample consisted of a group of couples, in which one member of the couple was a recovering alcoholic in an aftercare program, and a group of matched, comparison couples. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire, the Friel Codependency Assessment Inventory, and the Personal Authority in the Family System (PAFS) Questionnaire. The findings confirmed that codependency levels were higher in clinical than in comparison couples. Moreover, within the clinical group, there was little difference between alcoholics and their spouses with respect to dysfunction in their families of origin, current families, or their codependency levels. The findings further suggested that the etiology and function of codependency are different in clinical and nonclinical families. In the clinical sample, the family of origin and current relationship characteristics were related to codependency in patterns consistent with previous theory and research. For the nonclinical sample, however, the findings contradicted conventional codependency theory. The findings suggest that, in contrast to clinical populations, codependency in nonclinical populations has some links with favorable characteristics of family functioning.

An empirical investigation of adolescent suicidal ideation.

Four hundred nine high school students were surveyed to determine the percentage who had experienced suicidal ideation. The sample was then divided into high- and low-suicidal-risk groups. High-risk subjects were found to have significantly poorer quality friendships, lower self-esteem, and had experienced more life stress in the previous year.

Rites of passage in families with adolescents.

In previous generations society defined expectations and constructed events to promote individual development, a functional family organization, and cultural continuity. Culturally defined and accepted rites of passage that were previously observed in families with adolescents have given way to a more vague and meaningless set of adolescent expectations and affirmations. It is proposed that this change has interfered with the mission of the family to promote functional adolescent development and with the ability of the family during this life cycle stage to operate with a sense of community attachment. This paper addresses the importance of rites of passage as they pertain to family development and change and presents ideas about making them explicit in family therapy to change family interaction and structure. Prescribed family rituals that are straightforward, developmentally relevant, and interactional can be effective without consideration to whether they are paradoxical. Three clinical illustrations are presented to highlight this therapeutic approach.

Alienation and ego identity in adolescents.

This study discusses alienation among youth in present day society and investigates the relationship between ego identity and alienation in adolescents. The subjects were 147 students from five high schools in southwestern Virginia. Each subject was administered the Adolescent Alienation Scale (Mackey, 1974) and Ego Identity Scale (Rasmussen, 1961). The data supported the hypothesis that as scores on the Ego Identity Scale increase, there tends to be a moderate decrease in alienation. The results imply that young people who have successfully resolved the Eriksonian crises and conflicts will feel a sense of mastery over their environments and control of their destiny. Seeming, all "significant others" share a responsibility in forming the social personality which determines the commitment youth will eventually make to society.