Abstract

KENT RAVENSCROFT JR. M.D. 1 1 Fellow in Child Psychiatry, Hillcrest Children's Center, Washington, D.C. As the family child-rearing life cycle unfolds, puberty sets in motion processes within the adolescent and the family that initiate an adolescent family developmental epicycle. An integral aspect of this epicycle is a temporary regression in sibling, marital, and family functioning, reflecting a creative return to earlier modes of experience and behavior. This normal regression provides the empathetic interpersonal framework within which family members get in touch with, share, and facilitate adolescent development—while at the same time growing themselves as individuals and as a family unit.