The Differentiation of Self Inventory: Development …

1 Journal of Counseling Psychology1998, Vol. 4 5, No. 3, 235-246 Copyright 1998 by the American Psychological Association, Differentiation of self inventory : Development and Initial ValidationElizabeth A. Skowron and Myrna L. FriedlanderUniversity at Albany, State University of New YorkDespite the importance of Bowen theory ( , 1976,1978; M. E. Kerr&Bowen, 1988)in the field of family therapy, there have been relatively few studies to date examining itsconstructs or propositions. To fill this gap, a self -report instrument, the Differentiation of SelfInventory (DSI) has been developed. The DSI is a multidimensional measure of differentiationthat focuses specifically on adults (age 25+), their significant relationships, and currentrelations with family of origin. Six-hundred and nine adults participated in a series of 3studies, in which DSI scores reflecting less emotional reactivity, cutoff, and fusion withothers, and a greater ability to take an "I position" predicted lower chronic anxiety, betterpsychological adjustment, and greater marital satisfaction.

2 Other results consistent withBowen theory are discussed, along with the potential contribution of the DSI for testingBowen theory, as a clinical assessment tool, and as an indicator of psychotherapeutic theory (Bowen, 1976, 1978) is regarded as one ofthe few comprehensive explanations of psychological devel-opment from a systemic and multigenerational perspective(Gurman, 1991; Nichols & Schwartz, 1998). I n d e e d, Bowentheory provides a foundation for the field of family therapythat renders it distinct from the multitude of theoreticalapproaches to individual psychotherapy. At present, many ofBowen's (1976, 1978) concepts ( , Differentiation of self ,interlocking triangles, or reactive emotional distancing)pervade the family systems literature. Despite the vastattention Bowen theory has received from clinicians andtheorists alike, there have been, to date, few programmaticattempts to test its validity with respect to personalityfunctioning or quality of interpersonal relations or to changesas a result of psychotherapy.

3 To begin filling this notablegap, we developed the Differentiation of self inventory , aself-report instrument for adults (ages 25+). In this article,we present psychometric support for the measure, validationstudies to date, and implications for theory, research, the various constructs that compose Bowen theory, Differentiation of self is the personality variable most criticalto mature Development and the attainment of psychologicalElizabeth A. Skowron and Myrna L. Friedlander, Department ofCounseling Psychology, University at Albany, State University ofNew of this research, based on a doctoral dissertation byElizabeth A. Skowron under the direction of Myrna L, Friedlander,were presented at the 100th and 103rd Annual Conventions of theAmerican Psychological Association. We gratefully acknowledgethe valuable comments and suggestions of Richard F. Haase,Michael P. Nichols, Robert Noone, Collie Connelly, BarbaraWhite, and Douglas concerning this article should be addressed toElizabeth A.

4 Skowron, who is now at the Department of Educa-tional Psychology, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wiscon-sin 53201-0413. Electronic mail may be sent to eskowron Differentiation of self is defined as the degree towhich one is able to balance (a) emotional and intellectualfunctioning and (b) intimacy and autonomy in relationships(Bowen, 1978). On an intrapsychic level, differentiationrefers to the ability to distinguish thoughts from feelings andto choose between being guided by one's intellect or one'semotions (Bowen, 1976, 1978). Greater Differentiation al-lows one to experience strong affect or shift to calm, logicalreasoning when circumstances dictate. Flexible, adaptable,and better able to cope with stress, more differentiatedindividuals operate equally well on both emotional andrational levels while maintaining a measure of autonomywithin their intimate contrast, poorly differentiated persons tend to be moreemotionally reactive (Kerr & Bowen, 1988, p.)

5 320), findingit difficult to remain calm in response to the emotionality ofothers. With intellect and emotions fused, they tend to makedecisions on the basis of what "feels right"; in short, theyare trapped in an emotional world (Bowen, 1976; Kerr,1985).On an interpersonal level, Differentiation of self refers tothe ability to experience intimacy with and independencefrom others. More differentiated persons are capable oftaking an / Position in relationships: maintaining a clearlydefined sense of self and thoughtfully adhering to personalconvictions when pressured by others to do otherwise(Bowen, 1978, p. 252). Differentiation allows for flexibleboundaries that permit emotional intimacy and physicalunion with another without a fear of merger (Bowen, 1978;Kerr, 1988).When overwhelmed by emotionality in their familyrelationships, poorly differentiated individuals tend to en-gage infusion or emotional cutoff (Ken & Bowen, 1988).

6 According to Bowen theory, highly fused individuals remainemotionally "stuck" in the position they occupied in theirfamilies of origin, have few firmly held convictions andbeliefs, are either dogmatic or compliant, and seek accep-tance and approval above all other goals (Bowen, 1976,235236 SKOWRON AND FRIEDLANDER1978). Emotional cutoff is personified by the reactiveemotional distancer, who appears aloof and isolated fromothers, tends to deny the importance of family, often boastsof his or her emancipation from parents, and displays anexaggerated facade of independence (Nichols & Schwartz,1998). Whereas the fused person tends to experience separa-tion as overwhelming, the emotionally cutoff person findsintimacy profoundly threatening. Yet both individuals arepoorly differentiated, basing self -esteem largely on theapproval of others and generally conforming to those , one's level of Differentiation has a numberof important consequences for an individual.

7 Foremost,Bowen (1978) proposed that less differentiated individualsexperience greater chronic anxiety: "The average level ofchronic anxiety of a person and of a .. family parallels thebasic level of Differentiation of that individual and family[and] the lower the level of basic Differentiation , the higherthe average level of chronic anxiety" (Ken" & Bowen, 1988,p. 115). According to Bowen (1976, 1978; Kerr & Bowen,1988), less differentiated individuals also become dysfunc-tional under stress more easily and thus suffer more psycho-logical and physical symptoms ( , anxiety, somatization,depression, alcoholism, and psychoticism).Conversely, highly differentiated individuals are thoughtto demonstrate better psychological adjustment. Some evi-dence has emerged in support of these notions. Greene,Hamilton, and Rolling (1986) discovered that inpatient andoutpatient participants, regardless of diagnosis, reportedsignificantly lower levels of Differentiation than did those ina nonclinical control group.

8 Likewise, adults who report lessfusion in their significant relationships have been shown toexperience fewer self -reported health problems (Bray, Har-vey, & Williamson, 1987).More highly differentiated individuals are also expectedto remain in satisfying contact with their families of origin,establish more satisfying marriages, and be effective prob-lem solvers (Bowen, 1976, 1978). At present, only indirectsupport exists for the theoretical link between differentiationand marital satisfaction. Jacobson and his colleagues (Jacob-son, Follette, & McDonald, 1982; Jacobson, Waldron, &Moore, 1980) found that behavioral reactivity, defined as thetendency for spouses to react at the affective level to someimmediate stimulus from the partner, was associated withmarital distress. Couples who reported greater maritalsatisfaction showed less emotional reactivity in their ex-changes, whereas interactions of distressed couples werecharacterized by heightened emotional reactivity to immedi-ate positive and negative events in their relationships(Jacobson, Follette, & McDonald, 1982; J a c o b s o n, Waldron,& Moore, 1980).

9 Harvey, Curry, and Bray (1991) observedthat greater fusion and less intimacy with one's parentspredicted deficits in intimacy and greater emotional reactiv-ity with one's has been expressed about the paucity of empiri-cal research on the basic principles or constructs in Bowentheory (Gurman, 1978,1991). If Bowen theory is to continueto contribute significantly to the field, empirical means areneeded to test (and potentially modify) its basic assump-tions. Thus, we undertook Development of the Differentia-tion of self inventory (DSI) to create a self -report instru-ment for adults, age 25+, capable of (a) testing theoreticalassumptions, (b) assessing individual differences in adultfunctioning, and (c) evaluating psychotherapeutic outcomesfrom a systemic perspective. By defining adulthood with alower limit of 25 years of age, we sought to ensure that thesamples obtained consisted of those individuals who, from afamily life cycle perspective (Carter & McGoldrick, 1988),could be considered adults ( , postcollege or working,living apart from the parental home, and largely financiallyindependent).

10 To adequately measure Differentiation , we included boththe intrapsychic and interpersonal components, that is, thethinking-feeling and separateness-togetherness , transgenerational theorists ( , Boszormenyi-Nagy & Ulrich, 1981; Framo, 1992) have described indi-vidual and family functioning solely in terms of interper-sonal and intergenerational family processes. self -reportinstruments developed within this tradition include Kear's(1978) Differentiation of self Scale, the Emotional CutoffScale (McCollum, 1991), the Family-of-Origin Scale (Hov-estadt, Anderson, Piercy, Cochran, & Fine, 1985), and thePersonal Authority in the Family System Questionnaire(Bray, Williamson, & Malone, 1984). Although each repre-sents an important contribution to the field, none attempts tooperationalize the range of interpersonal components ofdifferentiation ( , fusion to emotional cutoff), and nonefocuses on the intrapsychic aspects of Differentiation (seeBowen, 1978; Kerr & Bowen, 1988).