Sequential Analyses of Adolescent,Mother, and Father Behaviors in Distressed and Nondistressed Families

The Response Class Matrix was used to compare sequential relations among behaviors in clinic families with a problem adolescent and those in non-clinic families with an adolescent under two experimental conditions, discussing a problem and planning something together. Clinic dyads manifested significantly more negative an les problem-solving behavior overall. When the family was planning something together, clinic mothers responded to their adolescents' negative behavior significantly more often with negative behavior and less often with problem-solving than did their nonclinic counterparts. Clinic adolescents responded to their mothers' negative behavior significantly more often with negative behavior and with less problem-solving than non-clinic adolescents, both when planning something together and when discussing a problem. These patterns were not observed with fathers. When the family was planning something together, clinic adolescents responded to both their mothers' and fathers' problem-solving with significantly more negative and less problem-solving behavior than did non-clinic adolescents. Results are discussed in terms of the aversive nature of the family environment for clinic adolescents, and the differences between mothers' and fathers' interactions with adolescents.