Families and Adolescent Drug Abuse: Structural Analysis of Children's Roles

This paper presents an analysis of sibling roles in families that have problems related to adolescent chemical abuse. It is based on material gathered during an exploratory research project directed toward structural evaluation of these families. The analysis identifies even sibling roles. The roles of Parental Child, Good Child, and Symptomatic Child are characterized as those with major structural impact. Four auxiliary roles of child Advocate, Analyst, Peacemaker, and Therapist are also described. Structural implications of sibling roles are discussed and suggestions for clinical intervention are presented.