One major debate in the area of families and drug use continues to be whether dysfunctional family life creates drug addiction or whether drug addiction produces dysfunctional families. In other words, are ALCOHOLISM and other drug addictions diseases of individuals or are they products of disorganized families and other social systems? The former is an "individual-focused" view, often held by drug counselors who favor SELF-HELP groups such as AA, Al-Anon, NA, and the like. The latter is a "systemic" view held by professionals who prefer to treat drug addictions by working with families, in order to change family systems into more healthy environments.

Whatever one's position in this debate, almost everyone agrees that the family is the primary socializing agent in society. However, Glick (1988), a senior family demographer, observed that during the past fifty years American families have been undergoing significant transformations...