title: Fusion or internalized homophobia? A pilot study of Bowen's differentiation of self hypothesis with lesbian couples.
abstract: Bowen, using the concept of differentiation, hypothesized that the way individuals learn to deal with their relationships with families of origin will influence the way they manage their relationships with their partners. This study surveyed a group of 53 lesbian couples on differentiation of self, internalized homophobia, and relationship satisfaction. We found that lesbian couples were not significantly different in their level of differentiation than random pairs. We also found that there was a positive relationship between differentiation of self and relationship satisfaction and that when considered together, internalized homophobia had the more significant connection to relationship satisfaction than did differentiation of self Implications for therapy are drawn from these findings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Bernadette
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Spencer
authors.forename: Jac
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Brown
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001315:Australia; D003142:Communication; D003674:Defense Mechanisms; D003858:Dependency, Psychological; D004644:Emotions; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D018452:Homosexuality, Female / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007207:Individuation; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008875:Middle Aged; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011287:Prejudice; D012933:Social Identification