CHABOT EMOTIONAL DIFFERENTIATION SCALE: A THEORETICALLY AND PSYCHOMETRICALLY SOUND INSTRUMENT FOR MEASURING BOWEN'S INTRAPSYCHIC ASPECT OF DIFFERENTIATION, THE

Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, Apr 2006 by Licht, Carolyn, Chabot, David

Bowen's theory (1978) of differentiation is the personality variable most critical to mature development and the attainment of psychological health. The study of psychological differentiation has been confounded by confusion regarding the constructs being studied and the measurement tools used to assess them. The purpose of this review is to introduce and demonstrate the utility and importance of the Chabot Emotional Differentiation Scale (CED; Chabot, 1993), a self-report instrument specifically designed to measure Bowen's intrapsychic aspect of differentiation, or an individual's ability to distinguish between emotional and intellectual functioning and utilize intellect in emotionally charged situations. Psychometric support for the CED, validation and cross-cultural studies to date, and implications for theory, research, and practice are presented.

INTRODUCTION

Unresolved emotional reactivity to our family of origin has been theorized to be the most important unfinished business in our lives (Bowen, 1976, 1978; Nichols & Schwartz, 2004). Persons and family systems carry within them the roots of identity constructed through a multigenerational maturational process which involves genetics, culture, spirit, and emotion (Nichols & Schwartz, 2004). The resulting construct of identity, for both families and individuals, is the lens through which human existence and experience are filtered and defined (Guerin & Guerin, 2002; Nichols & Schwartz, 2004). A wide range of conceptually related yet distinct concepts have been used to describe the patterns and dynamics of interaction found within the family (Bowen, 1966, 1976, 1978; Sabatelli & Anderson, 1991). The common theme underlying each of these conceptualizations is that the family system is thought to demonstrate, through its interactional patterns, varying degrees of tolerance for autonomy and intimacy, or level of differentiation (Anderson & Sabatelli, 1990, 1992; Bowen, 1978; Sabatelli & Anderson, 1991). According to Western psychological theory, the process of psychologically and emotionally differentiating from one's family-of-origin and developing the self as a unique and autonomous individual is considered the primary task of adolescence, integral to healthy psychological development (Blos, 1979; Bowen, 1978; Karasick, 2004).

The theoretical and clinical development of the concept of differentiation has been primarily due to the central prominence it was given by Bowen (1978) in his family systems theory (Chabot, 2004). Bowen (1978) described how the family, as a multigenerational network of relationships, shapes the interplay between two counterbalancing life forces: individuality and togetherness (Nichols & Schwartz, 2004; Skowron & Friedlander, 1998). Of the various constructs that compose Bowen's theory (1978), differentiation of self is the personality variable most critical to mature development and the attainment of psychological health (Skowron & Friedlander, 1998). Bowen (1966, 1976, 1978) was really the first theorist to make a concerted effort to systematize the concept of differentiation, although his thinking was heavily influenced by psychoanalytic and developmental conceptualizations of the individuation process (Chabot, 2004). Given the centrality of the concept of differentiation in the functioning of families, and the need to empirically demonstrate if and how family therapy is effective, it is critical that clinicians and researchers have a reliable and valid measure(s) of Bowen's definition of differentiation to use in their work (Chabot, 2004). This outcome and process research requires that the central concepts of the theory guiding family therapy and research be operationalized in a manner that is both consistent with theory and psychometrically sound. Unfortunately, the study of psychological differentiation has been confounded by confusion regarding the constructs being studied and the measurement tools used to assess them (Anderson & Sabatelli, 1990; Franks & Chabot, 2004; Karasick, 2004; Miller, Anderson, & Keala, 2004).

Brief Historical Overview of the Constructs

Psychoanalytic, developmental, and family systems literature has often used the terms "individuation," "separation," and "differentiation" interchangeably (Blos, 1979; Bowen, 1978; Carter & McGoldrick, 1980; Erickson, 1968; Franks & Chabot, 2004; Freud, 1958; Garbarino, Gaa, McPherson, & Gratch, 1995; Karasick, 2004; Mahler, Pine, & Bergman, 1975), resulting in terminological uncertainty and difficulty operationalizing and researching the underlying phenomena. In addition, these terms have been used to refer to both individual and family level processes, as well as the reciprocal interactions between the development of the individual and the family system (Anderson & Sabatelli, 1990, 1992). It is instructive to look at both individual-level variables describing degrees of individuation, as well as family-level variables describing the systems level of differentiation, in understanding an individual's separation from the family and development of a unique identity (Karasick, 2004).