Recurrent disruptions of rituals and routines in families with paternal alcohol abuse*

• Author: Bente Storm Mowatt Haugland
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/j.0197-6664.2005.00018.x
• Published date: 01 April 2005
• Date: 01 April 2005

Recurrent Disruptions of Rituals

and Routines in Families With

Paternal Alcohol Abuse

*

Bente Storm Mowatt Haugland**

Abstract: Changes in rituals and routines between drinking and sobriety were examined in families in

treatment due to paternal alcohol abuse. Information was gathered through a semistructured family inter-

view. Recurrent disruptions of rituals and routines were found between different phases in the drinking

cycle. Disruptions were found typically with regard to the fathers’ participation in rituals and routines,

the parental roles and responsibility, the affective quality of the rituals, and the general family climate.

Four categories of families were distinguished based on amount and type of disruptions in family rituals

and routines (i.e., protecting, emotional disruptive, exposing, and chaotic families). Implications for

intervention are described.

Key words: children of alcoholics, family disruption, family rituals and routines, paternal alcohol abuse,

unpredictability.

Previous studies have indicated that parental

alcohol abuse disrupts family rituals and rou-

tines (Bennett, Wolin, & Reiss, 1988; Fiese,

1993; Hawkins, 1997). However, these studies

have mainly examined the long-term conse-

quences of parental drinking by comparing fam-

ily rituals and routines in the period before and

after the drinking became problematic. The more

frequent everyday disruptions of rituals and

routines between drinking and nondrinking

conditions occurring daily or weekly have been

given less attention, yet are likely to affect family

life profoundly.

Previous research suggests that instability and

unpredictability in family interaction contribute

to maladjustment in children of alcohol abusers

(Ross & Hill, 2001). Recurrent disruptions of

rituals and routines are potential generators of

instability in the family life. The present study

explores recurrent disruptions of rituals and rou-

tines in families with paternal alcohol abuse

by considering changes in rituals and routines

*Financial support was received from the Norwegian Research Council, the Norwegian Council for Mental Health, and the Department of Clinical

Psychology, University of Bergen. I would like to thank therapists at Rogaland A-senter, Basissenteret in Sandnes and Blue Cross Clinics in

Tønsberg and Trondheim for recruiting families. I would also like to thank Berit Synneva

˚g who co-analyzed the interviews, Grethe Sighaug who

carried out the credibility check, Jan Skjerve, Wenche Haaland, and Geir H. Nielsen who commented on an earlier draft of this paper, and Odd E.

Havik who gave valuable comments and support during all phases of the study. I also want to thank the families who shared their experiences

with me.

**Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Bergen, Christiesgate 12, 5015 Bergen, Norway (Bente.Haugland@psykp.uib.no).

Family Relations, 54 (April 2005), 225–241. Blackwell Publishing. Printed in the USA.

Copyright 2005 by the National Council on Family Relations.

when the fathers are sober and when the fathers

are drinking.

The Importance of Family Rituals

and Routines

Family systems theory represents the general

theoretical framework of the present study,

implying a focus on family interaction, recog-

nizing the mutual influence of family mem-

bers, and acknowledging the need for a flexible

family structure and organization (Whitchurch &

Constantine, 1993). Systems theorizing identi-

fies regulated activities such as rituals and daily

routines as cornerstones of structure and stabil-

ity for healthy families (Dickstein, 2002). Ac-

cording to family system theory, families have

a tendency to maintain established patterns of

behavior in the face of change or adversity. The

level of disruption of rituals and routines related

to parental drinking may therefore be an impor-

tant indicator of how the alcohol abuse affects

the family functioning.

Family routines and rituals are repetitive behav-

iors involving two or more family members (Fiese

et al., 2002). Family rituals include traditions

developed to celebrate culturally defined occasions

as well as more idiosyncratic family traditions and

anniversaries. Family rituals also include daily in-

teraction patterns, such as meals and bedtime rit-

uals (Fiese, 1992; Wolin & Bennett, 1984). The

difference between routines and rituals is usually

defined with reference to the symbolic meaning

and affective quality attached to rituals in contrast

to the more pragmatic, instrumental elements of

routines (Fiese et al., 2002). However, the bound-

arybetweendailyroutinesandritualsisnotfixed,

as rituals include a routine component and rou-

tines may develop into rituals.

Daily routines and rituals are assumed to be

of great importance, in particular to families

with young children, because they provide sta-

bility, structure, and predictability to everyday

life (Fiese, Hooker, Kotary, & Schwagler, 1993).

Through engaging in routines and rituals,

children learn the rules, roles, and values of their

family and the culture to which they belong.

Family rituals also reinforce family identity by

establishing the roles, identity, and belonging of

family members (Wolin & Bennett, 1984).

Fiese (1992) has distinguished between a mean-

ing and a routine component of family rituals.

The meaning component emphasizes the sym-

bolic significance and affective quality ascribed

to rituals, whereas the routine component repre-

sents the assignment of roles and duties and the

regularity in how activities are conducted. Fiese

(1992) reports associations between adolescent

identity and the symbolic significance and posi-

tive affect of family rituals in nonclinical fami-

lies. According to Fiese (1993), disturbances in

the meaning component of family rituals are

also related to health problems in adolescents

with alcohol-abusing parents. Maintaining fam-

ily rituals and routines has further been related

to better adjustment in children in general, as

well as in children of alcohol-abusing parents

during childhood (Bennett et al., 1988) and in

adult years (Hawkins, 1997).

Summary and Objectives of the

Present Study

To summarize, family rituals and routines ap-

pear to be rich sources of information about

family life. Their importance for the health and

adjustment of family members has been empha-

sized theoretically and empirically. Apart from

the work of Steinglass, Bennett, Wolin, and

Reiss (1987), we know little about how parental

drinking connects with family routines and rit-

uals on an everyday basis beyond the long-term

disruptive effects reported in previous studies.

More knowledge on the short-term effects of

drinking is important to better understand the

everyday life of families and the environment in

which the children are raised. A more detailed

consideration of families where routines and rit-

uals are disrupted and families where they are

preserved is also needed.

Family Relations Volume 54, Number 2 April 2005226