ABSTRACT
The family system recently has been the focus of research regarding factors promoting substance abuse (e.g., Amey & Albrecht, 1998), eating disorders (e.g., Humphrey, 1989; Stern et al., 1989; Waller, Slade, & Calam, 1990), domestic violence (e.g., Infante, Chandler, & Rudd, 1989; Pence & Paymar, 1993), and depression (e.g., Beach & O’Leary, 1993). Recent research extends the role of the family member and focuses on the role of family members’ communication strategies in modifying negative health behaviors. Family members who seek to curtail negative health behaviors also may be caught in cycles of ineffective control attempts, perhaps because successfully controlling the negative health behavior may be inconsistent with relational goals. Inconsistent Nurturing as Control (INC) theory provides a way to interpret the relational processes and asserts that relational partners (spouses/cohabitators) and parents in relationships with individuals who engage in negative health behaviors unintentionally and subtly encourage the negative health behavior through their well-intentioned efforts to discourage it (Le Poire, 1992, 1995; Le Poire & Cope, 1999; Le Poire, Erlandson, & Hallett, 1998; Le Poire, Hallett, & Erlandson, 2000).
