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HDFS215_FamilyDevelopmentalStages.pptxFamily Developmental Stages: Transition from Adolescence to Adulthood
HDFS 215: Dynamics of Family Development
The Individuation Process
Individuation-developmental process through which a person comes to see self as separate and distinct within the relational contexts of the,
Familial
Social
Cultural
Degree to which individuation has occurred is degree to which the person no longer experiences himself or herself as fusing with others in personal relationships
The Individuation Process
Defining characteristics of fusion include
Dissolving of ego boundaries between the self and the other
Inability to establish an “I” within a “we”
High degree of identification with and dependence on others
Individuation can be thought of as a process through which an individual builds a background of knowledge about the self in relationship to others
The Individuation Process
Has a lot in common with Bowen’s (1978) notion of self-differentiation
Both emphasize individual’s ability to develop and maintain a coherent sense of self that is separate and distinct from others
Both emphasize the extent to which a person can interact intimately with others without becoming
Fused
Dependent or
Over-identified with them
The Individuation Process
Individuation differs from self-differentiation in this way:
Thought of as a universal, lifelong developmental process
To progress developmentally each individual must successfully balance autonomy and interdependence
Age-appropriate balance of separateness and connectedness enables
Children to exercise greater control over their lives
Relationships with parents and other family members to be reconstituted on a more mutual and adult level
Indicators of Mature Individuation in Early Adulthood
Individuation is characterized by progressive shifts in the individual’s ability to take personal responsibility throughout adolescence and into adulthood
Reflected in each individual’s specific areas of autonomy from family of origin;
Functional autonomy
Financial autonomy
Psychological autonomy
Indicators of Mature Individuation in Early Adulthood
During adolescence,
Individuals strive to renegotiate their relationship with their parents and other members of their family to achieve greater autonomy and self-sufficiency
During young adulthood,
The lingering dependencies must be altered if individuals are to succeed at managing the demands of adult roles and responsibilities
Must become more functionally autonomous and capable of managing and directing their own personal affairs without help from family members
Adolescents also need to renegotiate psychological autonomy with their families
Must take control of their own lives while remaining intimately connected to others
When psychological bonds are not adjusted in age-appropriate ways,
Individual feels excessively controlled by the family or becomes highly emotional and reactive
Indicators of Mature Individuation in Early Adulthood
Indicators of Mature Individuation in Early Adulthood
Reworking psychological connection to family of origin affects,
Emotions, behaviors, cognitions
These accompany our efforts to act in a personally responsible manner
Important indicator of individuation is degree to which young adults are emotionally dependent on or emotionally reactive to the family
Indicators of Mature Individuation in Early Adulthood
Emotional dependence: the excessive need for approval, closeness, and emotional support
Emotional reactivity: the degree of conflictual feelings, including excessive guilt, anxiety, mistrust, resentment, and anger towards parents
Degree of interference of dependence or reactivity determines the ability to exercise appropriate control over one’s life depends on the cognitions and behaviors that accompany emotions that are experienced
Indicators of Mature Individuation in Early Adulthood
For Example:
“I must make my parents proud of me”
“My parents’ wishes are more important than my own”
Thoughts can influence choice of behaviors
How we respond behaviorally to our feelings and thoughts determine our success at
reworking our psychological ties to our families and
becoming appropriately individuated
Indicators of Mature Individuation in Early Adulthood
Less individuated response can include conforming to parents’ wishes at the expense of personal autonomy and individuality
Individual’s need for autonomy is sacrificed in response to the family system’s demand for
Fusion
Loyalty
Connectedness
Indicators of Mature Individuation in Early Adulthood
Pseudo-individuation
Expressions of individuality appear to be successful but leave the person dependent on family
Such individuals have difficulty making commitments to others outside of the family
Avoid conflict, view themselves in need of others’ continued assistance, call on family members for support
The Individuation Process and Family Differentiation
Differentiation: Manner in which the family’s boundaries, emotional climate, and identity tasks are managed
Well-Differentiated families: have an optimal tolerance for individuality
Allows family members to be recognized as having unique individual characteristics
To act in appropriately autonomous ways
Helps to create family emotional environment where family members feel supported and encouraged to be themselves
The Individuation Process and Family Differentiation
Poorly differentiated families display either a low tolerance for individuality or a low tolerance for intimacy
Absence of tolerance for individuality is manifested in distance-regulation patterns
Interferes with individuals’ abilities to express their needs for autonomy and individuality
The Individuation Process and Family Differentiation
Absence of the tolerance for intimacy manifested in patterns and dynamics that communicate,
Little respect,
Regard,
Concern for individual family members
Family’s strategies for regulating individuality and intimacy are determined by its intergenerational legacy
Parents’ own unresolved individuation often causes unconscious attempts to reenact unresolved conflict in family of procreation
The Individuation Process and Family Differentiation
During adolescence and early adulthood families must respond to the increased pull toward individuation as young adult’s essential movement is away from the family toward a wider social environment
Families with low tolerance for intimacy may push young adults into premature separation before they are psychologically ready
This promotes feelings of rejection and/or alienation
