An Exploration of Differentiation of Self in Indian Youth

Murray Bowen’s “differentiation of self” refers to a maturation process, wherein the individual can achieve an optimal balance between the biologically rooted dialectic forces of togetherness and separateness. Being a multigenerational process, differentiation is achieved within the context of the family’s emotional process and manifests in the intrapsychic and interpersonal domains of functioning. Higher levels of differentiation facilitate better psychological health, and lower levels leave the person vulnerable to psychological distress. While extensively explored in the West, there is a paucity of differentiation studies in India, which is a society characterised by values of interrelatedness. An online cross-sectional survey was conducted to explore differentiation among Indian youth enrolled in universities across Maharashtra, India, using the DSI-R (Differentiation of Self Inventory — Revised) scale (Skowron & Schmitt, 2003). Data collected from 783 youth (243 males, 540 females; mean age = 20.77 years) was analysed using non-parametric statistics. Findings indicated average levels of differentiation (M = 3.4, SD = 0.59), high levels of I-position (M = 4.1, SD = 0.77) and emotional reactivity (M = 2.8, SD = 0.95) and average levels of emotional cut-off (M = 3.7, SD = 0.91) and fusion with others (M = 3. SD = 0.7). Contrary to Bowen’s assertion of the universality of the construct, sociodemographic factors like gender, birth order, relationship status and parental education were found to influence differentiation levels of youth significantly. Existing data provides contradicting evidence of the same. Findings support the need for more multicultural studies of differentiation to understand the construct and its manifestation in different cultures. Implications for assessment and therapeutic interventions are discussed.