Background
: Thomas L Campbell proposed a scoring method to assess families with chronic illness to easily. This scoring system relies on a questionnaire composed of 7 questions and depending on the results divides the families into three categories ; families coping very well, families that require support of a family physician and families that require family therapy consulting. this study was performed to investigate the reliability and validity of such a scoring system to accurately assess families with chronic illness and be of help management in Korea.

Methods : Coping scores and APGAR scores were taken 137 of patients and their families who were admitted to hospital between March and May in 1994. Statistical reliability testing was performed with Cronbach's alpha in SPSS/PC+ 4.0 and a comparison was made between the total coping score and individual items scores to find any correlation. Two technique were incorporated to determine the validity of the scoring, first, interviews were performed on families with chronic illness and points given from 1 to 5 for families with increasing levels of coping to the illness, and these results were compared with the coping score for correlation, second, APGAR scores were compared with the coping score for correlation. SAS was need to determine correlation.

Results : Patients studied were 90 male and 47 female and ages ranged from 17 years to 83 years with a mean of 48.7±16.1 years. The mean of the APGAR scores was 6.75±2.58 with 91 families with scores 7 points or over, 28 families between points 4 and 6, and 18 families with 3 points or less. The coping scores mean was 10.37±2.87 with 74 families with scoress 11 points or over, 55 families between points 5 and 10, and 8 families with 4 points or less.
Cronbacch's alpha was 0.6438 and with a score over 0.6, the coping score is found to have reliability. Correlation was found between the total score and individual items' scores.(P<0.0001) The R coefficiency between the coping score and the interview score was determined to be 0.5697 also showing correlation.(P<0.0001) The R coefficiency between the coping score and the interview score was determined to be 0.5697 also showing correlation.(P<0.0001) The R coefficiency between the coping score and APGAR score was 0.6410 again showing correlation (P<0.0001) and demonstrating the validity of the coping score.

Conclusion : The score of family's coping with chronic illness shows reliability and validity, as the results of this syudy. The scoring system can be used as a basic screening tool to determine how well a family is coping with chronic illness and as a basic guideline of family therapy in Korea.

Background
: Alcoholism is a common disease in the family practice. It causes multiple problems in many aspects such as biologic, psychological, social and family functioning of individual. Therefore, it is necessary for family physicians to study on alcoholic patients in a comprehensive way to understand those problems. We studied in a retrospective method to make basic asessment and approach to alcoholism.

Methods : We reviewed the medical records of 78 of alcoholics who were admitted to a mental hospital from June, 1993 to September, 1994. We inquired into the family function, withdrawal symptoms of alcoholilic patients, each axis(by DSM Ⅳ ) and laboratory test results.
Rusults : The alcoholic inpatients consisted of 76 males(97.4%h and 2 females(2.6%). 76.5% of them were married, and in terms of family stage, school-age family(49.0%) were the greatest. Their drinking duration is over 20 years in 44.9% of the subjects. Most of them were adimitted to a hospital involutarily(71.8%) and their family types(by FACESⅢ) showed extreme type in 30.8%, midrange type in 47.4% and balanced type in 21.8%. As regard to withdrawal symptoms, tyey expressed autonomic gypersesitivity very often(69.2%). In 37.2% of patients, they had personality disorders concommitantly and antisocial personality disorder was also very frequent(17.9%). They have more organic didseases than non-alcohilic patients, such as digestive(66.7%h, endocrine(20.5%), circulatory) 10.3%), respiratory system diseases(9.0%) and so on. They had many psychosocial and environmental problems in primary support group(43.6%) and in occupation(16.6%). They revealed significantly lowered social functioning than before the symptoms due to alcoholism developed(P<0.01).

Conclusion : Alcoholic patients have multiple problems in biologic, psychologic, social, and family functioning. A family physician should participate in the management of alcoholism in a comprehensive and continuous was.