The proposed project combines (a) the continued development of a new method, which is theoretically based in a systemic framework, for studying family therapy process and (b) the first field test using it in a clinical setting. The method is an observational coding system, the Family Relational Control Coding System (FRCCS) (Heatherington, Friedlander & Raymond, 1986) which allows the mapping and quantification of patterns of interpersonal control in patients' and therapists' communications with one another. It is a substantial extension of a widely used existing method, the Relational Communication Control Coding System (Rogers & Farace, 1975) which is, however, applicable only to dyadic communication. A field study of family therapy sessions at an outpatient clinic known for its systemic orientation will address a theoretically and practically important question: What is the relationship between different patterns of interpersonal control between the therapist and each family member and patients' perceptions of the therapeutic alliance? A sample of thirty families with a distressed adolescent will be videotaped during their regularly scheduled third therapy session. Immediately afterward, all family members (over the age of 10) will complete a measure of their perceptions of the therapeutic alliance. Data from this measure and the videotapes, which will be coded using the FRCCS, will be subjected to multivariate analyses to test predictions relating specific patterns of control to alliance. The development and fine tuning of this coding system (including a manual that can be made available to other researchers) offers a sorely needed methodology for the study of family therapy process from a systems perspective.
