Functional illness and family functioning: a comparison of healthy and somaticizing adolescents

This study examined the usefulness of the Circumplex Model of Marital and Family Functioning for discriminating between families of healthy adolescents and families of adolescents with functional somatic complaints. The findings did not support the expected curvilinear relationship between symptomatology and the FACES II family dimensions of cohesion and adaptability. Questions are raised regarding the degree of correspondence between the constructs of enmeshment and rigidity as assessed clinically and as measured by the Circumplex Model.