Young persons with life long patterns of maladaptive behaviour present to the health & social services with multiple disabilities. These include suicidal behaviour, drug abuse, venereal disease, motor vehicle accidents, repeated failure of close personal relationships, job failure, repeated delinquency, criminal violence, & failure to cooperate with medical care. Conspicuous parental discord is the major casual influence, thus explaining transmission to successive generations. (23 refs.) (RM)