ABSTRACT
Achieving a desirable degree of closeness and separateness is an issue inherent in the structure of the nuclear American family and must be met in some fashion by every family group. The Steeles have dealt with this issue by making family cohesion and companionship the focal point of group effort as a source of self-regard for the group. This is a family that “does things together” in the best American tradition. It is also a family that believes in action—overt, obvious action. Companionship is defined as activity jointly shared. Co-operative effort of this sort is purposeful—one of the outcomes of consistent discipline and persistent conformity to the Steele family image. This interactional mode was developed as a response to inner needs of Mr. and Mrs. Steele, each of whom relates to it in somewhat different ways.
