An Intergenerational Examination of Patterns of Individual and Family Adjustment

Abstract

SUZANNE BARTLE-HARING The Ohio State University RONALD SABATELLI University of Connecticut* Using a multigenerational-systemic model of individual and family development, we propose a model connecting parents' experiences of family of origin, parents' marital adjustment, and parents' psychosocial adjustment to adolescents' experiences of their family of origin. A sample of middle-aged parents and their late-adolescent children were questioned about their perceptions of the dynamics within their respective families of origin. Additionally, the middle-aged adults were given standardized measures of personal and marital adjustment. Using structural equation modeling for the path analysis, we found limited support for the proposed model. Key Words: differentiation, family adjustment, family of origin, individual adjustment, intergenerational relationships, marital adjustment. Multigenerational perspectives on individual and family development are based on the assumption that the dynamics within the family of origin constitute a legacy that impacts the trajectory of both individual and family development (Allison & Sabatelli, 1988; Bowen, 1978; Farley, 1979; Harvey & Bray, 1991). A secondary assumption of intergenerational family-systems theory is that the influence of the family of origin is sustained whether or not the person continues to interact with the family. As a result, important relational patterns of interaction and adjustment are presumed to be transmitted across generational boundaries (Boszormenyi-Nagy & Ulrich, 1981; Bowen, 1978; Williamson, 1982). These assumptions serve as the focal point for this study, which endeavors to empirically investigate the intergenerational transmission of family patterns of interaction. Despite the growing popularity of multigenerational perspectives, research primarily has explored the interrelationship between the dynamics of family systems and individual development as they apply to a particular generational stage. For example, adolescent's perceptions of their family of origin covaries with adolescent developmental outcomes (cf. Bartle & Sabatelli, 1995; BartleHaring, 1997; Gavazzi, 1993). Researchers have only begun to explore the interrelationship of developmental and systemic variables from a multigenerational perspective (Harvey & Bray, 1991; Harvey, Curry, & Bray, 1991). Such research is needed for a more comprehensive understanding of the intergenerational transmission of patterns of personal and family adjustment. A MULTIGENERATIONAL-SYSTEMIC MODEL OF INDIVIDUAL AND FAMILY DEVELOPMENT The model guiding the research described here is presented in Figure 1. The conceptual foundation for the proposed model is derived from a combination of intergenerational (Boszormenyi-Nagy & Ulrich, 1981; Bowen, 1978; Napier, 1988) and developmental-systemic (Farley, 1979; Meyers, 1980; Sabatelli & Mazor, 1985) theories of individual and family functioning. The model asserts that the experiences of individuals in their families of origin establish a legacy that influences patterns of adjustment from generation to generation within a family system. That is, the experiences of individuals in their families of origin impact their personal adjustment, how they structure and experience their intimate partnerships in adulthood, how they interact with their own children, and their children's subsequent levels of adjustment. A multigenerational-systemic model of individual and family development presumes that the patterns of interaction in the family of origin have a significant influence on individual development. For individuals in healthy families, there exists a legacy of tolerance for both intimacy and individuality that results in a strong sense of self as separate (autonomy, uniqueness, freedom of personal expression) and a strong sense of self as connected (support, involvement, personal relationship; Bowen,1978; Farley, 1979). …