Bowen - Transgenerational Theory Flashcards
What do Bowens 8 generational concepts address?
emotional processes taking place in the nuclear / extended families and across generations & in society
Bowens 8 concepts are tied together by the underlying premise that chronic anxiety is omnipresent in life / is inevitable part of nature
TRUE: chronic anxiety is a biological phenomenon that humans have in common with all life forms
natural systems perspective - past generations transmit chronic anxiety - and is related to the experiences of family members as they struggle to balance togetherness + individual self-differentiation
TRUE
What are the 8 conepts of bowen
- differentiation of self
2.
differentiation of self?
extent of persons ability to distinguish between intellectual process + feelings process: demonstrated by ability to think and follow own values in the face of anxiety without behavior being driven by emotional cues of others
- close intimacy w/ others + maintain separate sense of self (not caught up in family issues)
- distinguish between thoughts & feelings
(emotional regulation + separate emotions from family - express own feelings not those of others) - behave based on own values
(not driven by emotions of others)
the degree to which one can __________ = key to the differentiation experience?
the degree to which one can SEPARATE EMOTIONALLY FROM PARENTS IN GROWING UP = key to the differentiation experience?
one way to demonstrate degree of differentiation is?
speaking in “i” statements = verbalizes separation from others
individuals with the greatest fusion between their thoughts and feelings = function poorly
TRUE :
at the mercy of automatic emotional reactions
can’t cope with anxiety
can’t separate self from others = merge easily with emotions of family
few firmly held beliefs of their own = stuck “emotionally” throughout their life
undifferentiated family ego mass
family emotionally stuck together - conglomerate emotional oneness exists = degree that any member is involved in family from moment to moment
emotional fusion into a common self with family
concept of “fusion-differentiation” / “undifferentiated family ego mass” emphasize transgeneration theory view that…..?
concept of “fusion-differentiation” / “undifferentiated family ego mass” emphasize transgeneration theory view that = MATURITY & SELF-ACTUALIZATION DEMAND INDIVIDUALS TO BECOME FREE OF UNRESOLVED EMOTIONAL ATTACHMENT TO FAMILY OF ORIGIN
according to bowens concept of fusion-differentiation: no one ever achieves complete emotional separation from the family of origin
TRUE:
due to 2 counterbalance life forces innate all humans :
ability to develop into emotionaly separate person
+
emotional connection to family
greater level of undifferentation (higher fusion) = greater levels of emotional fushion with family
TRUE
attempt to achieve stability + relieve anxiety in highly fused, emotionally intense 2-person system by bringing in 3rd person
TRIANGULATION : the idea that internal/external stress is reduced by bringing in a third vulnerable person
triangle
basic building block in a family’s emotional or relational system
______ = smallest stable relationship system
TRIANGLE = smallest stable relationship system
families rely on triangles to:
relieve discomfort + maintain optimum levels of closeness / separation while permitting them the greatest freedom from anxiety
3rd person brought into a triangle =
least well-differentiated person + often “identified patient”
4 outcomes of triangles:
- stable 2 system = unstable by addition of 3rd
- stable 2 system = unstable by removal of 3rd
- unstable 2 system = stabilized by adding 3rd
- unstable 2 system = stable by removing 3rd
Provide an example:
stable 2 person system becomes unstable by adding 3rd person
birth of a child brings marital conflict
Provide an example:
stable 2 person system becomes unstable by removing a 3rd person
child leaves home and is no longer mediator of parents conflict
Provide an example:
unstable 2 person system becomes stable by adding 3rd person
child is born and reduces marital conflict
Provide an example:
unstable 2 person system becomes stable by removal of 3rd person
marital conflict is reduced by uninvolving mother in law
traingles are key mechanism in families where patterns of relating to one another are passed through generations
true
3rd person can detriangulate by:
not taking sides while maintaing emotional connection to both people
Ex. siblings fight - mother reamins positive towards both children & equally close to both = diminish emotional intensity between siblings
differentiation of self
2 distinct and closely interrelated processes.
- occurs within the individual and refers to the individual’s capacity to be aware of the difference between their intellectually determined functioning and their emotionally determined functioning.
- the way the individual functions in relationship and his/her ability to maintain emotional autonomy in a relationship system.
A gain in the differentiation of self within one’s family is brought about by increase of knowledge of one’s multigenerational family system as informed by the concepts of the theory. This increase in multigenerational knowledge assists person to form a base of understanding from which to:
make mindful choices to act thoughtfully (objectively), utilizing their intellectually determined functioning,
or
reactively (subjectively), utilizing their emotionally determined functioning, to the emotional forces in his day-to-day experience.
Nuclear (or Core) Family Emotional Process:
observable mechanisms and patterns of emotional functioning in a family, in a single generation, as it responds to the activity of its members and impacting events.
These processes are the systems reposne to anxiety and the systems attempt to achieve equilibrium or balance.
These processes are:
marital conflict,
dysfunction of a spouse,
and impairment of one or more children through the family projection process.
Emotional distancing, is a feature of all relationships, is intertwined with all the patterns of emotional functioning in a nuclear family.
The nuclear family emotional process (the observable mechanisms and patterns of emotional functioning) of the current generation typically is a replica of past generations and will be repeated in the generations to follow.
Marriage = foundation for relationships in nuclear family
TRUE
The triangle, a three-person emotional configuration, is the basic building block of a stable emotional system and describes its dynamic movement toward gaining equilibrium
TRUE
Poorly differentiated parents select most fusion-prone child to focus their attention on (regardless of birth order) transfer low level of differentiation onto child
FAMILY PROJECTION PROCESS
Method of stabilizing relationship around “disturbed child” = continue family triangle
family projection process
This concept describes the transmission of the nuclear family emotional process through multiple generations.
MULTIGENERATIONAL TRASNMISSION PROCESS
Individual differences in functioning (differentiation of self) and multigenerational trends in functioning, reflect an orderly and predictable relationship process that connect the functioning of family members across the generations.
MULTIGENERATIONAL transmission process
Severe dysfunction result of chronic anxiety transmitted over several generations
Explain the process of multigenerational transmission
- Selection of a spouse w/similar differentiation level
- Family projection process that results in lower levels of self-differentiation for offspring who is sensitive to parental emotional patterns
The offspring who inherited low self-differentiation from parents will marry someone with similarily low levels of self-diff & project onto their offspring so the process continues
as each generation produces individuals with progressively poorer differentiation increased vulnerability to anxiety, fusion, marital conflict or child impairment
Children develop fixed personality charactersistics based on their birth order
sibling position:
Interactive patterns of marital partners –> related to their own sibling position in family of origin since birth order predicts one’s own roles / functions in their family’s emotional system
Marriage that resembles sibling birth order = more successful (first born should marry some1 who is 2nd born)
TRUE:
Ex. oldest + youngest marry = both expect oldest to take more responsibility OR oldest + oldest marry = overly competitive b/c each is used to being in charge
It’s a person’s functional position in family system (not necessarity actual birth order) that shapes future expectations / behavior
TRUE
societal regression
Increased social anxiety and a resulting decrease in the functional level of the society can result in a gradual lowering of the functional level of it’s families. The increased emotional process in such groups influences the increase of emotional process in the family. The lower the level of differentiation within the family system, the more the family emotional process is influenced by societal emotional processes.
♣ Societies emotional functioning is reflected in families emotional functioning (societal concerns = family concerns) societies bear the mark of the families burdens
♣ Society contains opposing forces toward undifferentiation & toward differentiation
♣ Chronic stress (population growth / depletion of natural resources) = anxious social climate = togetherness + autonomy = more discomfort/anxiety
o separation btwn: thoughts / feelings & self / others = influenced by emotions of family (at mercy of involuntary emotional reactions & few firmly held positions of their own & remain “emotionally stuck” throughout life )
Fusion
undifferentiated family ego mass:
family “emotionally stuck” together – intense emotional closeness
“fusion-differentiation”: theorys transgenerational view that maturity & self-actualization demand that individual become free of unresolved emotional atttachments to family of origin
TRUE
Degree of emotional independence from family & others
Hypothetical Scale of Differentiation
evaluate individuals level of differentiation & emotional fusion
symbiosis
intense mother-child relationship
fusion
opposite of differentiation
differentiation offers a solution in whch the symptoms are not passed on to another family member
TRUE
pseudo self (pretend self)
knowledge/beliefs acquired from others due to emotional pressure
conviction is so fused with feeling it becomes a cause
short term reduction of anxiety & connection to group
difficult to maintain in emotionally charged relationships
principles/beliefs are changed to enhance one’s image with others or to oppose
pseudo self
triangles are not inherently negative -
TRUE:
triangles become negative only when 3rd member reacts
