Ego Identity Status: A Step in the Differentiation Process

First espoused by Bowen (1976, 1978), family systems theory provides a developmental paradigm that focuses on how an individual's sense of self emerges in the context of emotional attachments in his or her multigenerational family system. Differentiating from one's family of origin, the cornerstone of Bowen's theory, is a key developmental task associated with young adulthood (Carter & McGoldrick, 1989). Differentiation of self refers to an individual's ability to function in an autonomous and self-directed manner without being controlled by family members or significant others and without emotionally cutting oneself off from these significant relationships (Bowen, 1978; Kerr & Bowen, 1988). In other words, differentiated individuals are able to separate themselves from unresolved emotional attachments in their families without severing significant relationships. Undifferentiated individuals, on the other hand, tend to remain fused in relationships with parents and significant peers and/or emotionally cut off from these relationships (Johnson & Waldo, 1998; Kerr & Bowen, 1988). Fused relationships are characterized by enmeshment and emotional reactivity, whereas emotional cutoffs are characterized by reactive disengagement (Johnson & Waldo, 1998). A central barometer of differentiation is an individual's ability to separate thoughts and feelings (Bowen, 1978). Differentiated individuals are not overwhelmed by emotionality at the expense of their intellect, whereas undifferentiated individuals are ruled by their emotions. Differentiated individuals are inner-directed and readily take an "I position" rather than act reactively in response to external events and others' emotionality (Kerr & Bowen, 1988; Skowron & Friedlander, 1998). The key components of differentiation, then, include an individual's level of fusion versus emotional cutoff and I position versus emotional reactivity (Skowron & Friedlander, 1998). According to Bowen (1978), differentiation of self is essential for healthy psychological development. Poorly differentiated individuals are thought to experience higher levels of chronic anxiety and thus more psychological and physical symptoms. Research has provided some support for this theoretical notion in that lower levels of differentiation have been associated with greater amounts of chronic anxiety and more symptomatic distress (Skowron & Friedlander, 1998), higher frequencies of health problems and greater psychological distress (Bray, Harvey, & Williamson, 1987; Harvey & Bray, 1991; Harvey, Curry, & Bray, 1991), and lower levels of marital satisfaction (Skowron, 2000). Bowen (1978) theorized that an individual's level of differentiation is largely predicted by the emotional health (i.e., differentiation levels) of his or her parents. Specifically, through a process in which anxiety and unresolved emotional attachments are projected onto children by parents, differentiation levels are passed along through the generations. Research has provided support for this concept of multigenerational transmission process and has identified factors in the family of origin (e.g., conflict, poor communication, divorce, and family dysfunction) that seem to predict differentiation levels of young adult children (Bartle & Anderson, 1991; Harvey et al., 1991; Johnson & McNeil, 1998; Johnson & Nelson, 1998). Although awareness of family dimensions that seem to affect the levels of differentiation in children is beginning to emerge, less is known about the steps of the differentiation process, particularly the role that young adults play in their own process. Bowen's (1978) theory raises doubt about individuals' ability to increase their differentiation levels and implies that children are simply recipients of their parents' projections. Contrary to this somewhat deterministic view, others (e.g., Bray, Williamson, & Malone, 1986; Johnson & Nelson, 1998; Johnson W Williamson, 1982; Williamson & Bray, 1988) have postulated an active role for adults in their own differentiation process, as well as strategies for counselors to assist them in this process. …