Structural analysis of families with a polydrug-dependent, bulimic, or normal adolescent daughter.

This study compared perceived relationships and interaction patterns among 44 families with externalizing (polydrug-dependent), internalizing (bulimic), or normal adolescent daughters. Data from L.S. Benjamin's (1974) structural analysis of social behavior rating scales and observational coding system were subjected to a pattern analysis of effect sizes. Results revealed that families of polydrug-dependent girls were less well attached and less autonomous than were families of daughters with bulimia who were, in turn, less attached and autonomous than controls. Observed interactions also showed that parents of drug-dependent teenagers communicated a mixed message of blaming the daughter while pseudo-affirming her. The findings were interpreted as evidence for specific disturbances in the critical elements of attachment and autonomy in both clinical disorders, with more pronounced and pervasive problems in the families of polydrug-dependent girls.