"Nonlabeled" family interaction: prelimiary report on a prospective study

This paper is a preliminary report on the first year of a two-year exploratory, prospective study of psychiatrically "nonlabeled" families. The project studies families from a nonpathology-oriented point of view. It focuses primarily on whole-family interaction as it progresses through time. Because of limited funds, only two families are being studied in this exploratory phase. Nevertheless, the work touches on many issues of a general nature that may be of interest of other researchers. Each family has been interviewed once a month for the past year. The paper outlines: procedural matters, including selection criteria and recruitment; data collection, including interviews, rating scales, and "clinical" discussions; processing of data; preliminary findings, including quantitative and qualitative aspects; and problem areas, including methodological and ethical aspects.