Parental Divorce and Family Functioning: Effects on Differentiation Levels of Young Adults

Johnson, Paula C; Thorngren, Jill M.; Smith, Adina J.

doi:10.1177/1066480701093005

Cited by 23 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…This was contrary to our prediction, but may be consistent with some previous research using the DSI or DSI-R to measure fusion (Chung and Gale 2006;Skowron 2000Skowron , 2004Skowron and Friedlander 1998;Tuason and Friedlander 2000). Although Skowron (2004) pointed out that research using alternate measures of fusion or related constructs have supported Bowen's perspective, some other researchers (Jenkins et al 2005;Johnson et al 2001) suggested the reexamination of the measurement of Bowen's concept of fusion by DSI or DSI-R. Therefore, we suggest the need for further research focusing on establishing the empirical validity of fusion based on Bowen's description of this construct.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 83%

“…While a growing body of research has linked individual adjustment, personality, and self-esteem to family functioning (Heaven et al 1996), research specifically focusing on the association between family functioning and self-differentiation is rare. One such empirical study (Johnson et al 2001) reported that family functioning affected differentiation levels of young adults.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Many researchers (e.g., Buboltz et al 2003;Dmitrieva et al 2004;Johnson et al 2001;Sabatelli and Bartle-Haring 2003) have demonstrated that healthy family-of-origin dynamics help children develop positive identities, increase autonomy, and decrease the likelihood of future problem behaviors. In particular, Bowen's family system model (1976, 1978Kerr and Bowen 1988) theorizes that one's level of differentiation is primarily linked to family patterns of interaction.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Family Functioning and Self-Differentiation: A Cross-Cultural Examination

Chung

Gale

2008

Contemp Fam Ther

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This study examined the degree to which self-differentiation as related to family functioning is valued differently by Korean and European-American university students. The main findings confirm that the level of family functioning reported by European Americans is greater than for their Korean counterpart; family functioning is associated with differentiation measures (total score, emotional reactivity, and emotional cutoff) to a different extent across the two groups; and controlling for the effect of family functioning, the added contribution of a country variable explained further variance in selfdifferentiation. The importance of addressing the issue of similarities and differences between cultures in the assessment and treatment of individuals with problems related to their families of origin is discussed.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 83%

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Family Functioning and Self-Differentiation: A Cross-Cultural Examination

Chung

Gale

2008

Contemp Fam Ther

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“…Therefore, this result may be understood as an outcome of the operationalization of the theoretical concept of fusion. As noted by other research (Jenkins, et al, 2005;Johnson, Thorngren, & Smith, 2001), the concept and the measurement of fusion warrants re-examination due to a lack of clarity regarding the ideal amount of fusion, especially considering context.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Comparing Self-differentiation and Psychological Well-being between Korean and European American Students

Chung

Gale

2006

Contemp Fam Ther

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This study examined cross-cultural differences in the relationship of selfdifferentiation with self-esteem and depressed mood, two indices of psychological well-being. Participants were 427 Korean and 375 European American college students. The main findings were that the levels of all components of self-differentiation were greater for European Americans than for Koreans; self-differentiation was associated with psychological well-being more strongly in American samples than in Korean counterparts; and ''I position'' was the most powerful predictor on selfesteem in both groups. Results suggest that differentiation is a meaningful construct for understanding psychological adjustment of college students in collectivistic Korean society.

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“…These results may be understood as an outcome of the operationalization of the theoretical concept of fusion. As noted by Johnson, Thorngren, and Smith (2001), the concept of fusion warrants re-examination due to a lack of clarity regarding the ideal amount of fusion, especially considering context. In other words, at what point does fusion become unhealthy, and under what conditions?…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Differentiation of self and psychosocial development

et al. 2005

Self Cite

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This study investigated the relationship between Bowen's (1978) concept of differentiation of self and Erikson's (1950Erikson's ( / 1963 psychosocial stages of development. Three hundred and fourteen university undergraduates completed the Measure of Psychosocial Development (MPD; Hawley, 1988) and the Differentiation of Self Inventory (DSI; Skowron & Friedlander, 1998). Multiple regression analyses indicated that differentiation level is significantly predictive of psychosocial development. Clinical implications of the findings are discussed. KEY WORDS: differentiation of self; psychosocial development; Bowen theory.Bowen (1976, 1978) family systems theory is a prominent and widely used approach in the marriage and family therapy field. The major tenets of the theory, including differentiation of self, triangulation, family projection process, fusion, emotional cutoff, and multigenerational transmission process, are foundational concepts in the training of many marriage and family therapists, with differentiation being the most central concept in Bowen's theory.

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Parental Divorce and Family Functioning: Effects on Differentiation Levels of Young Adults

Cited by 23 publications

References 27 publications

Family Functioning and Self-Differentiation: A Cross-Cultural Examination

Family Functioning and Self-Differentiation: A Cross-Cultural Examination

Comparing Self-differentiation and Psychological Well-being between Korean and European American Students

Differentiation of self and psychosocial development

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