Relationship Distress and Anxiety, a Bowenian Lens

I wrote this critical reflection for our interpersonal systems class at the University of Rochester. The professor asked us to find a paper on Bowen’s systemic family therapy and write about it. I chose a paper I found by Priest (2015) that looks at distress in a romantic relationship and how it is related to generalized anxiety disorder, using Bowen’s theories.

Priest (2015) cited prior research showing that individuals with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) often experience co-occurring romantic relationship distress, which can make GAD more resistant to treatment. Priest then hypothesized that Bowen family systems theory could provide a useful model to understand the relational processes involved in GAD, and potentially inform more efficacious treatment. Priest also hypothesized that individuals who experienced violence in their family of origin would be more likely to develop GAD and experience romantic relationship distress. Priest hypothesized these correlations would be mediated by the Bowenian construct of “differentiation”. Priest studied this by analyzing 2,321 responses from a national survey and assessing differentiation based on an individual's ability to emotionally self-regulate and balance individuality with togetherness in relationships. Priest’s findings supported his hypotheses: family of origin violence was associated with both GAD and romantic relationship distress. Differentiation did mediate the relationship between family violence and GAD, but only partially mediated romantic relationship distress.

When evaluating Priest’s research, I can see how adding a dimension around Bowenian Theory, namely differentiation, could enhance our understanding and treatment of GAD. It seems to make sense to screen individuals with GAD for family violence and romantic relationship distress, and if present, offer relational interventions to supplement treatment. Taking a critical stance, this paper is nascent; it does not address what kinds of interventions may be used, nor test their efficacy. This paper also only looks at one Bowenian construct, differentiation, and uses a non-standard measurement for it. How could we incorporate more Bowenian constructs, such as triangulation? How could we use more standardized assessment tools? How could we make a longitudinal rather than cross-sectional study? Finally, the paper looked at ~80% white-identifying individuals; how do we expand the cultural lens? 

References

Priest, J. B. (2015). A Bowen family systems model of generalized anxiety disorder and romantic relationship distress. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 41(3), 340–353. https://doi.org/10.1111/jmft.12063