This report, one of a series derived from an intensive multidisciplinary study of eighteen families, concerns itself with the marital relationship. Much more conflict was present between the parents of an emotionally disturbed child than between the parents of a relatively healthy child. Moreover, the mother and father of the disturbed child tended to have the same fundamental problems, even though they appeared to be polar opposites in overt behavior. This 'polarization' and its accompanying 'isolation', i.e., deficiencies in communication between the spouses, is demonstrated by contrasting examples of a disturbed and nondisturbed family. Many pathological marriages seem to be preserved from disruption by the child becoming the 'scapegoat' for interparental aggression. The author is more interested in presenting a group-dynamic interpretation than a psychoanalytic interpretation of the clinical data.