The Behavioral and Emotional Reactivity Index: Preliminary Evidence for Construct Validity from Three Studies

The purpose of this article is to introduce a new instrument: the Behavioral/Emotional Reactivity Index (BERI). The goal in the creation of the BERI was to provide a means of assessing a critical aspect of the individuation process-how young adults behaviorally respond to the emotion-evoking situations that evolve out of their relationships with their parents. The assessment of this aspect appears to be missing in existing installments designed to tap individuation. The present article reports results of three studies that provide preliminary evidence for the reliability and construct validity of this instrument. The conceptual foundation of the BERI The BERI's conceptual foundation is based on the importance of the individuation process as a developmental task for adolescents and young adults. The individuation process is considered the cornerstone of development that allows adolescents to assume adult roles and responsibilities (Allison & Sabatelli, 1988; Josselson, 1988). Individuation has been defined as a developmental process through which one comes to see oneself as separate and distinct within one's relational (familial, social, cultural) context (Karpel, 1976). The degree to which individuation has occurred is the degree to which the person no longer experiences him/herself as fusing with others in personal relationships. Defining characteristics of fusion include: the dissolving of ego boundaries between self and other, the inability to establish an "I" within a "we," a high degree of identification with others, and dependence on others (Anderson & Sabatelli, 1990; Karpel, 1976; Sabatelli & Mazor, 1985). Individuation is a process through which individuals develop the ability to act autonomously while remaining emotionally connected to significant others (Anderson & Sabatelli, 1990; Josselson, 1988; Karpel, 1976; Sabatelli & Mazor, 1985; Shapiro, 1988). When conceived of in this way, the individuation concept has much in common with Bowen's (1978) notion of self-differentiation and Williamson's (1982) concept of personal authority in the family system. Bowen (1978), for example, identifies two aspects of differentiation of self. The first aspect is the differentiation of emotional from intellectual functioning within the self and the degree of choice one has over which type of functioning will govern one's behavior. The higher the differentiation of the self, the greater the capacity to be in close emotional contact with significant others without having one's thinking, emotions, and behavior governed by seemingly involuntary reactions to those relationships or by the accompanying emotional environment; Friedman, 1991; Kerr, 1984). The second aspect is described as "the process by which individuality and togetherness are managed by a person and within a relationship system" O(err & Bowen, 1988; p. 95). Within this view, higher levels of self differentiation do not only lead to increased individuality, but also to "the ability to allow togetherness [which] urges free rein" (Kerr & Bowen, 1988, p. 95). Williamson's (1982) concept of personal authority in the family system is even more explicitly defined as the synthesis of separateness and connectedness. This concept refers to "the achievement of peerlike intimacy in interactions with all persons, including parents, while also maintaining an individuated stance" (Harvey & Bray, 1991, p. 300). What characterizes personal authority, then, is the ability to develop and maintain a coherent sense of self while being emotionally involved with others, that is, the ability to interact with intimate others without becoming fused, dependent, or over-identified with them. The Individuation Process and Emotional/Behavioral Reactivity The individuation process during adolescence and early adulthood requires a reworking of the parent/child relationship (Allison & Sabatelli, 1988; Youniss, 1983). Adolescents must alter their lingering financial and functional dependencies on their families if they are to succeed at managing the demands of adult roles and responsibilities off. …