Differentiation of Self, Stress, and Emotional Support as Predictors of Psychological Distress

We explored the relations among stress, emotional support, and differentiation of self from the family of origin as predictors of psychological distress in a sample of 200 college students. First, we investigated the discrepant findings of Murdock and Gore (Contemp Fam Ther 23: 319–335, 2004) and Skowron et al. (J Couns Dev 82: 69–78, 2004) regarding the relationships among stress, differentiation, and symptoms (a question of mediation vs. moderation). Second, we examined the role of emotional support in concert with stress and differentiation. When both stressful events and perceived stress were measured, differentiation of self was found to be a significant partial mediator of their effects on psychological distress. Emotional support was also found to partially mediate the relationship between differentiation of self and psychological distress. Differentiation of self partially mediated the relationship between actual and perceived stress, and perceived stress partially mediated the relationship between differentiation of self and psychological distress.     

Differentiation of Self and Dyadic Adjustment in Couple Relationships: A Dyadic Analysis Using the Actor‐Partner Interdependence Model

Bowen's multigenerational theory provides an account of how the internalization of experiences within the family of origin promotes development of the ability to maintain a distinct self whilst also making intimate connections with others. Differentiated people can maintain their I‐position in intimate relationships. They can remain calm in conflictual relationships, resolve relational problems effectively, and reach compromises. Fusion with others, emotional cut‐off, and emotional reactivity instead are common reactions to relational stress in undifferentiated people. Emotional reactivity is the tendency to react to stressors with irrational and intense emotional arousal. Fusion with others is an excessive emotional involvement in significant relationships, whilst emotional cut‐off is the tendency to manage relationship anxiety through physical and emotional distance. This study is based on Bowen's theory, starting from the assumption that dyadic adjustment can be affected both by a member's differentiation of self (actor effect) and by his or her partner's differentiation of self (partner effect). We used the Actor‐Partner Interdependence Model to study the relationship between differentiation of self and dyadic adjustment in a convenience sample of 137 heterosexual Italian couples (nonindependent, dyadic data). The couples completed the Differentiation of Self Inventory and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale. Men's dyadic adjustment depended only on their personal I‐position, whereas women's dyadic adjustment was affected by their personal I‐position and emotional cut‐off as well as by their partner's I‐position and emotional cut‐off. The empirical and clinical implications of the results are discussed.     

Differentiation of Self and Marital Adjustment of Clinical and Nonclinical Spouses

ABSTRACT

Bowen theory posits that spouses in problematic marriages are lower on differentiation of self and marital adjustment than spouses in nonproblematic marriages. This paper reports the findings from an empirical study which provide support for this aspect of Bowen theory. Differentiation of self and marital adjustment were also found to be moderately, positively related to each other. Implications for clinical practice and research are discussed.     

Help seeking and social competence mediate the parental attachment–college student adjustment relation

This short‐term longitudinal study investigated whether attitudes about academic help seeking, social competence, and self‐compassion mediated the relations between parental attachment and college student adjustment. Two hundred and four first‐year students completed measures of parental attachment and the proposed mediators at the beginning of their first semester. At the end of the semester, students reported on their academic, social, and personal/emotional adjustment. Results showed that attitudes about academic help seeking mediated the attachment–academic adjustment relation and social competence mediated the attachment–social adjustment relation. Personal/emotional adjustment largely was predicted by initial personal/emotional adjustment. These findings suggest that help‐seeking attitudes and social competence could be fruitful targets of intervention for personnel working with college students who have strained parental relationships.     

Underlying Mechanisms Explaining the Link between Differentiation and Romantic Relationship Outcomes

Abstract

Differentiation of self has been associated with positive relationship outcomes, but little has been done to analyze the underlying mechanisms that promote these outcomes for highly differentiated people. Longitudinal data were collected from a sample of university students (N?=?162) and clinically relevant direct and indirect effects between I-position and emotional reactivity, anxious attachment, relationship efficacy, and relationship satisfaction and conflict hostility were analyzed using path analysis. In general, anxious attachment and relationship efficacy mediated the association between differentiation of self and conflict hostility. Clients may benefit from therapists assessing differentiation and attachment, facilitating conversations that contribute to increasing differentiation and attachment, and using both of these constructs as mechanisms to enhance relationships in young adults.     

Ethnic identity and acculturation in Hispanic early adolescents: mediated relationships to academic grades, prosocial behaviors, and externalizing symptoms

This study examined acculturative stress and self-esteem as mediators of the association of ethnic identity and acculturation with psychosocial outcomes. The study sample consisted of 347 Hispanic adolescents in a "new" immigrant-receiving community in the Midwest. The authors expected acculturation to influence psychosocial adjustment through acculturative stress and ethnic identity to influence psychosocial adjustment through self-esteem. Results indicated that relationships of ethnic identity to academic grades and to externalizing symptoms were mediated by self-esteem and that both U.S. and Hispanic acculturation orientations were directly associated with prosocial behavior. The relationships of U.S. cultural orientation to academic grades and to behavior problems were mediated through acculturative stress and self-esteem. Implications of these findings for the study of Hispanics in more monocultural receiving communities are discussed.     

Stress, Coping, and Differentiation of Self: A Test of Bowen Theory

Differentiation of self from the family of origin is thought to be a significant factor in psychological functioning. Bowen contended that the effects of stress are moderated by differentiation of self, such that high levels of stress would have more impact on individuals lower in differentiation as compared to individuals higher in differentiation in predicting dysfunction. We tested this hypothesis and also assessed the relations among stress, coping, differentiation of self, and dysfunction. Results provided support for Bowen's prediction; differentiation indeed moderated the effects of perceived stress in predicting psychological functioning in expected ways. The interaction of differentiation of self and stress predicted variance in functioning beyond what was accounted for by coping styles, suggesting that although coping and differentiation of self are related, they are not synonymous.     

The role of goal orientation during expatriation: a cross-sectional and longitudinal investigation

Using cross-sectional and longitudinal data from expatriates in China, the authors investigated the roles of general, work, and interaction adjustment, as well as work stress, as mediators between the antecedents (learning, proving, and avoiding goal orientations, and perceived organizational support) and expatriate outcome (job performance and premature return intention) relationships. Results indicated that goal orientations toward overseas assignments had differential relationships with expatriate job performance and premature return intention. In addition, it was found that these relationships were partially mediated by expatriate adjustment facets. Implications for expatriate adjustment research and practice are discussed.     

Responses to positive affect,life satisfaction and self‐esteem: A cross‐lagged panel analysis during middle adolescence

During middle adolescence, elevated stress and a greater presence of psychological disorders have been documented. The research has paid little attention to the regulation of positive affective states. Fredrickson's broaden‐and‐build theory suggests that cultivating positive emotions helps to build resources that boost well‐being. The current research aimed to examine the longitudinal associations between responses to positive affect (emotion‐focused positive rumination, self‐focused positive rumination, and dampening) and psychological adjustment (self‐esteem and life satisfaction) during middle adolescence. A longitudinal study with two waves separated by one year was conducted, assessing 977 adolescents (M = 13.81, SD = 0.79; 51.5% boys) with self‐report measures. A cross‐lagged panel analysis was performed by including within the same model the relationships between all of the variables in the two assessment points. The results indicated cross‐lagged positive relationships of self‐focused positive rumination with both self‐esteem and life satisfaction, while dampening showed a negative cross‐lagged relationship with self‐esteem. Moreover, higher self‐esteem predicted more emotion‐focused positive rumination, and more dampening predicted lower life satisfaction. Thus, the use of adaptive responses to positive affect and a better psychological adjustment were found to be prospectively interrelated at the one‐year follow‐up during middle adolescence. The discussion argues for the need to implement programmes to promote more adaptive responses to positive affect to enhance psychological adjustment in the adolescent transition to adulthood.     

Cognitive Schemas,Adversity, and Interpersonal Functioning: An Exploratory Study within Undergraduate Women

Healthy relationships are an important indicator of adjustment for survivors of psychological adversity. However, experiences of adversity and stress symptoms can impair the quality of relationships. This study explores the underlying cognitive mechanisms that contribute to intimacy and conflict styles in close relationships. Global maladaptive schemas (GMS) and relational health schemas were used in this investigation of 109 undergraduate women. Participants reported a range of adverse experiences and stress symptoms. The findings indicated that relational health schemas were positively associated with integrating and compromising conflict styles, which blend concern for self and close friends in conflict situations. Higher GMS were associated with withdrawal conflict style. Findings also indicated that perceptions of intimacy were predicted by low stress symptoms.     

The Role of Attachment and Stigma in the Relationship Between Stress and Attitudes Toward Counseling in South Korea

Using structural equation modeling, the authors investigated the mediators between stress and attitudes toward seeking professional help among 298 undergraduate students in South Korea. Results indicated that attachment styles (avoidance and anxiety) and stigma (public and self‐stigma) mediated the relationship between stress and attitudes toward seeking help. Furthermore, public and self‐stigma had different paths depending on attachment styles related to help seeking. Regarding previous counseling experience, differences in the relationships between stress, attachment styles, stigma, and attitudes toward seeking help were evident.     

counselors' collective self‐esteem mediates job dissatisfaction and client relationships

Given the central role of professional identity (i.e., collective self‐esteem in this study), the authors examined whether collective self‐esteem mediated or moderated relations between job dissatisfaction and client relationships in a sample of 132 professional counselors in the United States. Results indicated that collective self‐esteem partially mediated the relationship between job dissatisfaction and client relationships. Furthermore, job dissatisfaction was negatively related to greater levels of private collective self‐esteem, and greater private collective self‐esteem was positively related to better client relationships.     

Siblings of children with mental retardation: Family characteristics and adjustment

Siblings of children with mental retardation may be at greater risk for adjustment problems because of family stress related to the needs of the child with mental retardation. Family dimensions were investigated to determine their relationship to sibling adjustment. Adjustment of 12 siblings of children with mental retardation was examined in relationship to family dimensions. These relationships were compared to those for children from families without a disabled child. For both groups, self concept was positively associated with family cohesion, and social competence was positively associated with family promotion of independence. For only the siblings of the mentally retarded children, family conflict was inversely related to social competence, and family organization was positively related to sibling self concept. Our results suggest that family conflict and disorganization appear to have a more negative effect in families with a child with mental retardation.     

Positive intelligence illusions: on the relation between intellectual self-enhancement and psychological adjustment

The relation between self‐enhancement and psychological adjustment has been debated for over 2 decades. This controversy is partly due to the variety of approaches implicated in the assessment of mainly self‐enhancement but also psychological adjustment. We adopted a face‐valid approach by statistically removing actual intellectual ability variance from self‐rated intellectual ability variance. Study 1 (N = 2,048), a concurrent Internet investigation, provided initial insight into the relation between intellectual self‐enhancement and psychological adjustment. Study 2 (N = 238), a longitudinal round‐robin investigation, allowed a closer examination of the dynamic processes underlying this relation. Self‐enhancement was positively linked to multiple indicators of intrapersonal and interpersonal adjustment, and predicted rank‐order increases in adjustment over time. The links between intellectual self‐enhancement and intrapersonal adjustment were mediated by self‐esteem. Finally, the interpersonal costs and benefits of self‐enhancement systematically varied depending on methodology.     

An investigation of the impact of young children's self‐knowledge of trustworthiness on school adjustment: A test of the realistic self‐knowledge and positive illusion models

The study aimed to examine the relationship between self‐knowledge of trustworthiness and young children's school adjustment. One hundred and seventy‐three (84 male and 89 female) children from school years 1 and 2 in the United Kingdom (mean age 6 years 2 months) were tested twice over 1‐year. Children's trustworthiness was assessed using: (a) self‐report at Time 1 and Time 2; (b) peers' reports at Time 1 and Time 2; and (c) teacher‐reports at Time 2. School adjustment was assessed by child‐rated school‐liking and the Short‐Form Teacher Rating Scale of School Adjustment (Short‐Form TRSSA). Longitudinal quadratic relationships were found between school adjustment and children's self‐knowledge, using peer‐reported trustworthiness as a reference: more accurate self‐knowledge of trustworthiness predicted increases in school adjustment. Comparable concurrent quadratic relationships were found between teacher‐rated school adjustment and children's self‐knowledge, using teacher‐reported trustworthiness as a reference, at Time 2. The findings support the conclusion that young children's psychosocial adjustment is best accounted for by the realistic self‐knowledge model ( Colvin & Block, 1994 ).     

The mediating and moderating effects of differentiation of self on body mass index and depressive symptomatology among an American college sample

Differentiation of self – a core construct of Bowen's (Bowen, M. (1978). Family therapy in clinical practice. New York: Jason Aronson) family systems theory – was examined as a possible predictor of psychological health and physical health and as a mediator and moderator of the relation between overall functioning and psychological health and physical health. A total of 818 American college students participated (mean age?=?23.72, SD?=?4.79) in this study. Differentiation of self was correlated and was predictive of psychological health, as measured by the Beck depression inventory, and physical health, as measured by body mass index (BMI). A multivariate multiple regression model revealed that differentiation of self partially mediated the effects of overall functioning on depressive symptomatology and on BMI. Results from a hierarchical regression model showed that differentiation of self moderated the relation between overall functioning and depressive symptomatology but did not moderate the relation between overall functioning and BMI. Taken together, these preliminary findings provide initial evidence of the importance of the associations between family systemic factors (differentiation of self) and psychological and physical health factors among American college populations.     

War and disaster in Sri Lanka: Implications for widows' family adjustment and perception of self‐efficacy in caring for one's family

The data for this study were collected in 2014 from widows in Eastern Sri Lanka whose spouses died in the civil war, tsunami, or from health‐related problems. Conservation of resources (COR) theory was used as a lens to examine the extent to which war and tsunami‐related damages and family problems predict variation in social support, family adjustment and a perception of self‐efficacy in caring for one's family as reported by widowed women. We also investigated whether social support from the community and social support from family and friends mediated those relationships. Results of a path model fit to the data suggested variation in family adjustment to be negatively predicted by war‐related family problems and positively predicted by the social support of friends and family. Additionally, a sense of self‐efficacy in caring for one's family was found to be inversely predicted by war‐related family problems and tsunami damages. Clinical, social and theoretical implications are discussed as well as directions for further research.     

SILENCING THE SELF

Silencing the self theory (Jack, 1991) holds that women's depression is closely related to experiences in close relationships, especially if women conform with societal norms for feminine relationship roles. In conforming, Jack believes that women develop relationship schema that heighten vulnerability to loss of self-esteem and depressive symptomatology. An exploratory study addressed relationships among self-report measures of silencing the self, dyadic adjustment, demographic variables, and depressive symptomatology in a community sample of 155 cohabiting women and men, including 37 heterosexual couples from which both partners provided data. Although relationship adjustment was no more closely associated with depressive symptomatology for women than for men, silencing the self was. Demographic variables (number of children, employment status, and income) accounted for a significant proportion of variance in depressive symptomatology for men but not for women. Women's self-reported silencing was related to both their own and their partner's relationship adjustment.     

Acculturative Stress Among Cuban American College Students: Exploring the Mediating Pathways Between Acculturation and Psychosocial Functioning

We examined different dimensions of acculturative stress in mediating the association between acculturation and psychosocial functioning among 199 Cuban American college students (M age = 20.1 years) in Miami. Results showed that heritage‐cultural orientation was directly associated with self‐esteem. No other direct relations emerged. Spanish competency pressures and pressures against acculturation mediated the relationships between heritage‐cultural orientation and internalizing symptoms, whereas pressures to acculturate mediated the association between American cultural orientation and self‐esteem. These findings highlight the unique roles of different components of acculturative stress in the relationship of heritage and American cultural orientation to Cuban American adolescents' psychosocial well‐being. Implications regarding the multidimensionality of acculturation and of acculturative stress are discussed.     

job stress,coping strategies,and burnout among abuse‐specific counselors

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether effective coping strategies play an important role to reduce burnout levels among sexual or substance abuse counselors. The authors examined whether coping strategies mediated or moderated relations between job stress and burnout in a sample of 232 abuse‐specific counselors. Results indicated that self‐distraction and behavior disengagement coping strategies mediated the relationships between 3 job stress variables (workload, role conflict, and job ambiguity) and burnout. Although venting and humor coping strategies positively moderated the relationship between role ambiguity and burnout, active coping strategies negatively moderated the relationship between workload and burnout.