A test of Bowen theory: Emotional reactivity and psychological distress in a clinical sample

This project was a replication of previous work (Bartle-Haring, Rosen, & Stith, 2002). In the current investigation, a sample of adults seeking services at a university marriage and family therapy clinic was used to test the model previously used by Bartle-Haring et al. (2002) in order to support the use of the Adult Behavioral and Emotional Reactivity Index (Bartle-Haring, Leite, Brucker, Griffin, Miller, & Yang, 1997) and to test Bowen's notions of the relationsbip between differentiation of self from the family of origin and psychological symptoms with the possibility of gender differences. The results support Bowen theory, question the use of the ABERI and provide findings that are in conflict with the original study. A developmental hypothesis is offered to explain the differences.