This paper describes an ongoing research project which is designed to test the effectiveness of crisis-oriented social systems intervention as a model for primary prevention with bereaved families. The families' immediate reactions to the death and their subsequent reorganization are discussed in light of two factors: (1) the interaction pattern that exists between the family and the larger social system; and (2) the interaction pattern that prevails within the family system itself. Observations to date have suggested that the degree to which a family will accept and benefit from outside intervention at the time of a death is a function of its incorporation of the norms and values of society into its own familial value system. In addition, the type of systems coping patterns employed by the family, as well as the role the deceased had assumed within the family system, have been found to be critical variables that influence the course of bereavement and subsequent readjustment. Data obtained from the second paper supports the contention that the behavior of bereaved individuals does progress through various stages of grief, and that readjustment of the family depends greatly on the role of the deceased prior to his death. (KJ)