A study is described which analyzed 12 families chosen from a five-state area. The families consisted of seven with mental retardation handicapped members, and five with orthopedically handicapped members. Each family was analyzed in terms of family members' contributions to the dependence or independence desired by the handicapped member. Specifically, the study examined the extent to which individual family members and significant others wove stories around the handicap and their roles in coping with it. In depth, repeated, in-home, unstructured interviews and observations of families were carried out. Interviews were taped and transcriptions of the tapes and notes were content analyzed. Three products resulted: a series of case studies illustratng interventions for families at various stress points in the family cycle; a model for family structure, functions, and life cycles to point out changing family structure and the evolution of new roles for family members; and a series of methodological analyses relating to research problems on independence. Examples are cited of the reactions of families to questions of etiology and reality and denial. The idiosyncratic nature of each family's response to the handicap is emphasized, and researchers searching for root causes of family response to handicaps are urged to take a more phenomenologically oriented and naturalistic approach to their studies. (CL)