Alcoholism is a serious problem for the public health. Its treatment is complex and the inclusion of the patient's family has been emphasized. The objective of this research was to identify the structure, relationships, support network and experiences of families before the alcoholism. The data collection was made through semi-structured interviews with five alcoholics' families of a Family Health Unit. We verified that alcoholism composes the major problem for these families that demonstrated not much knowledge about the topic. Among the major difficulties we found the violence suffered by the relatives. The family relations are disturbed. Most families avoid talking about alcoholism with other people. Therefore, the social support network is vital. Analyzing that, we verified the precariousness of the public resources, the unawareness of the existing resources and the non-utilization of the Support Groups by families.
Alcoholism; Family; Social Support
