Alcohol abuse results in a variety of problems including employment difficulties and family problems. This study integrates a family systems model of alcoholism with a family crisis model for recovery to study spouses of alcoholics and their perceptions of family stress, coping styles, and quality of marriage. Participants (N=60) were husbands or wives of alcoholics who were divided into three equal subgroups: (1) the early recovery group, whose spouses were sober for less than 2 years; (2) the long-term sobriety group, whose spouses were sober 2 or more years; and (3) the wet group, whose spouses were actively drinking. Participants responded to questionnaires about stress, life change events, coping styles, marital adjustment and drinking problems. The results indicated that the early recovery group scored lowest in terms of life change events and levels of stress, and highest on the quality of marriage index. The wet group had the highest life change events and stress scores and the lowest scores for the quality of marriage index. The long-term sobriety group scored between the other groups on life change events, stress, and quality of marriage. The highest coping abilities scores were in the wet group. Degree of stress and marital adjustment were inversely related for all groups. Further research of the recovery process could aid in determining effective coping styles and stress management techniques for buffering the destructive consequences of the alcoholic's drinking. (References are included.) (ABL)