["Self-help potential of the family" can overtax the abilities of the marital partner. Report on a family group of Huntington chorea patients].

The following study on family groups of patients with Huntington's chorea shows the changed psychosocial life patterns resulting from the disease of the marriage partner, as seen from the viewpoint of the other partner. It is evident that "family groups" are not necessarily self-sustaining, and cannot manage the additional strain without outside help; as a matter of fact, the limits of familial self-help become very apparent if the partner cannot cope with the burden. In this manner, family groups actually emphasise and underline the need for external social support.