Problems experienced by women whose alcoholic husbands have recently become sober are pervasive and varied. During the years of active alcoholism, a pattern develops of allowing other family members' needs to take priority. Group therapy, emphasizing congruent communication and expression of feelings, is one means of assisting members in this phase of adjustment.

The purpose of the study was to obtain an objective description of subjective symptoms and changes associated with the protracted alcohol abstinence syndrome as measured by the Body/Behavioral Experiences (BBE) Inventory. Body experiences include symptoms and changes attributed to the nervous, cardiovascular, and gastrointestinal systems. Behavioral experiences include cognitive, perceptual, affective, and psychomotor responses. The hypothesis that BBE would vary in occurrence and frequency was supported. Mean percentage of subjects (males = 53; females = 48) reporting occurrence of body experiences (48.51) was lower than those reporting behavioral experiences (59.56) as was mean frequency of total experiences (2.16; 2.20). Women reported more experiences than men. The second hypothesis that greater frequency and occurrence of BBE will be related to higher scores on an alcohol dependence (AD) measure was also supported (Pearson r = .41, p ff .001). Findings are important in the practice of rehabilitation nursing and can be used to inform clients and their families of common BBE associated with early recovery.

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