Personality structure of wives of alcoholics. This paper postulates that the wife of the alcoholic man usually has as poorly integrated a personality as her husband, although she may function more acceptably in the eyes of the community. Four types are discussed: the pain-seeking woman, the controlling, belittling woman, the ambivalent woman, and the hostile, aggressive woman. The point is made that these women inevitably choose a husband whom they feel to be psychologically vulnerable, although he does not always express this vulnerability through alcoholism. Case material from counseling situations illustrates how each of these women uses the problems produced by the husband''s alcoholism to meet deep, unconscious needs of her own. This marital relationship is symbiotic in quality. Its effects on the functioning of husband, wife and children are descr. , and potential capacity for improved functioning through use of counseling, therapy, AA, and other community resources discussed. The clinical material on which these conclusions are based is from Family Service cases in which there have been weekly interviews with the wife over a period of a year or more.