A repeated case study design was used that combined data from the application of the Q-technique and semi-structured family interviews, to examine the effects of alcohol on family interaction. Two families were selected on the basis that they represented examples of binge or alternating patterns of drinking and sobriety as defined by Steinglass (1987) . The families were identified and referred to the project through an Alcohol and Drug Outpatient Treatment Program. Individual family members Q-sorted 60 items drawn from the McMaster Family Assessment Device developed by Epstein, Baldwin and Bishop (1983) into seven categories that ranged from most like, to least like, their particular family, during both drinking and non-drinking times. The family as a group then together Q-sorted the items. Q-sort results for each sorting occasion were made into a correlational matrix, then subjected to a principal components analysis. The results were analyzed to identify similar themes or patterns. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate