Communication styles of alcoholic and nonalcoholic families when drinking and not drinking.

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Abstract
Family interactions of 8 couples with the husband an alcoholic and 8 normal control couples were videotaped under drinking and nondrinking conditions, including interactions of each parent with 2 children. Communication congruence, affect and problem solving were analyzed by measuring content and audio and nonverbal expression. Alcoholic husbands consumed 12-70 ml of ethanol in the drinking session, achieving a mean blood alcohol concentration of 0.08%; 3 of their wives consumed .apprx. 20 ml each. In the control group both spouses consumed only small amounts. Subjects were more congruent in the drinking session, husbands more so than wives. Nonalcoholic husbands produced more interactionally relevant messages than their wives; alcoholics, fewer than their wives. Alcoholic couples produced more negative affect, and more in the drinking session. Nonalcoholic couples exhibited more problem-solving. In sessions with children, alcoholic family groups produced more negative affect in the drinking session; nonalcoholic couples were less negative and more problem-solving in the drinking session. Alcoholic fathers and their children showed equal rates of problem-solving communication; nonalcoholic fathers showed higher rates than their children.

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