Using Bowenian family systems theory, this study examined the effects of the intergenerational transmission of anxiety in the family of origin through the processes of fusion, triangulation, and control on late adolescents' attitudes toward marriage and readiness for marriage. Participants (N = 977) completed three measures of family processes in their families of origin, attitudes toward marriage, and readiness for marriage. The findings indicated that fusion and triangulation were related to negative opinions and feelings about marriage. They did not have a significant effect on perceived readiness for marriage or on waiting period before marriage. However, gender and age predicted readiness and waiting time. Implications for family therapists working with adolescents are discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Alexander, P. C. , Moore, S., & Alexander, E. R. (1991). Intergenerational transmission of violence. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 53, 657-667.
2.
Arcus, M. (1987). A framework for life-span family life education. Family Relations, 36, 5-10.
3.
Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
4.
Barber, B. K. , & Buehler, C. (1996). Family cohesion and enmeshment: Different constructs, different effects. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 58, 433-441.
5.
Bartle, S. E. , & Sabatelli, R. M. (1995). The behavioral and emotional reactivity index: Preliminary evidence for construct validity from three studies. Family Relations, 44, 267-277.
6.
Bartle-Haring, S. , & Gavazzi, S. M. (1996). Multiple views on family data: The sample case of adolescent, maternal and paternal perspectives on family differentiation levels. Family Process, 35, 457-472.
7.
Belsky, J. , Youngblade, L., & Pensky, E. (1989). Childrearing history, marital quality, and maternal affect: Intergenerational transmission in a low risk sample. Development and Psychopathology, 1, 291-304.
8.
Benson, M. J. , Larson, J. H., Wilson, S. M., & Demo, D. H. (1993). Family of origin influences on late adolescent romantic relationships. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 55, 663-672.
9.
Boszormenyi-Nagy, I. , & Ulrich, D. N. (1981). Contextual family therapy. In A. S. Gurman & D. P. Kniskern (Eds.), Handbook of family therapy (pp. 156-186). New York: Brunner/Mazel.
10.
Bowen, M. (1978). Family therapy in clinical practice. New York: Jason Aronson.
11.
Bray, J. H. (1995). Family assessment: Current issues in evaluating families. Family Relations, 44, 469-477.
12.
Bray, J. H. , Harvey, D. M., & Williamson, D. S. (1987). Intergenerational family relationships: An evaluation of theory and measurement. Psychotherapy, 24, 516-528.
13.
Bray, J. H. , Williamson, D. S., & Malone, P. E. (1984a). Personal authority in the family system: Development of questionnaire to measure personal authority in intergenerational family processes. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 10, 167-178.
14.
Bray, J. H. , Williamson, D. S., & Malone, P. E. (1984b). Personal authority in the family system questionnaire manual. Houston, TX: Houston Family Institute.
15.
Bray, J. H. , Williamson, D. S., & Malone, P. E. (1986). An evaluation of an intergenerational consultation process to increase personal authority in the family system. Family Process, 25, 423-436.
16.
Brone, R. J. , & Fisher, C. B. (1988). Determinants of adolescent obesity: A comparison with anorexia nervosa. Adolescence, 23, 155-169.
17.
Carter, B. , & McGoldrick, M. (1988). The changing life cycle (2nd ed.). New York: Gardner Press.
18.
Coleman, M. , & Ganong, L. H. (1984). Effect of family structure on family attitudes and expectations [Special issue: Remarriage and stepparenting]. Family Relations, 33(3), 425-432.
19.
Epstein, N. , & Eidelson, R. J. (1981). Unrealistic beliefs of clinical couples: Their relationship to expectations, goals, and satisfaction. American Journal of Family Therapy, 9, 3-21.
20.
Fine, M. , & Hovestadt, A. J. (1984). Perceptions of marriage and rationality by levels of perceived health in the family of origin. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 10, 193-195.
21.
Gavazzi, S. M. (1993). The relation between family differentiation levels in families with adolescents and the severity of presenting problems. Family Relations, 42, 463-468.
22.
Gecas, V. , & Schwalbe, M. L. (1986). Parental behavior and adolescent self-esteem. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 48, 37-46.
23.
Gelles, R. J. (1985). Family violence. Annual Review of Sociology, 11, 347-367.
24.
Glenn, N. D. , & Kramer, K. B. (1987). The marriage and divorces of the children of divorce. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 49, 811-825.
25.
Greenberg, E. F. , & Nay, W. R. (1982). The intergenerational transmission of marital instability reconsidered. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 44, 335-347.
26.
Holman, T. B. , Larson, J. H., & Harmer, S. L. (1994). The development and predictive validity of a new premarital assessment instrument: The preparation for marriage questionnaire. Family Relations, 43, 1-7.
27.
Innes, M. (1996). Connecting Bowen theory with its human origins. Family Process, 35, 487-500.
28.
Jennings, M. , Salts, C. J., & Smith, T. A. (1991). Attitudes toward marriage: Effects of parental conflict, family structure, and gender. Journal of Divorce and Remarriage, 17, 67-80.
29.
Kaufman, J. , & Zigler, E. (1987). Do abused children become abusive parents?American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 57, 186-192.
30.
Kelley, H. H. (1972). Casual schemata and the attribution process. In E. E. Jones, D. E. Kanouse, H. H. Kelley, R. E. Nisbett, S. Valins, & B. Weiner (Eds.), Attributions: Perceiving the causes of behavior (pp. 151-174). Morristown, NJ: General Learning Press.
31.
Kerr, M. , & Bowen, M. (1988). Family evaluation. New York: Norton.
32.
Kinnaird, K. L. , & Gerrard, M. (1986). Premarital sexual behavior and attitudes toward marriage and divorce and young women as a function of their mothers' marital status. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 48, 757-765.
33.
Lapsley, D. K. , Fitzgerald, D. P., Rice, K. G., & Jackson, S. (1989). Separation-individuation and the “new look” at the imaginary audience and personal fable: A test of integrative model. Journal of Adolescent Research, 4, 483-505.
34.
Larsen, A. S. , & Olson, D. H. (1989). Predicting marital satisfaction using PREPARE: A replication study. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 15, 311-322.
35.
Larson, J. H. (1988). Factors influencing college students' perceived readiness for marriage. Family Perspective, 22, 145-157.
36.
Larson, J. H. (1992). “You're my one and only”: Premarital counseling for unrealistic beliefs on mate selection. American Journal of Family Therapy, 20, 242-253.
37.
Larson, J. H. , & Thayne, T. (1995, November). Marital attitudes and readiness of adult children of alcoholics. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, Baltimore, MD.
38.
Lopez, F. G. (1986). Family structure and depression: Implications for the counseling of depressed college students. Journal of Counseling and Development, 64, 508-511.
39.
Lopez, F. G. (1991). Patterns of family conflict and their relation to college student adjustment. Journal of Counseling and Development, 69, 257-260.
40.
Miller, S. , Wackman, D., Nunnally, E., & Miller, P. (1992). Connecting with self and others. Denver, CO:Interpersonal Communication.
41.
Nichols, M. P. , & Schwartz, R. C. (1991). Family therapy: Concepts and methods (2nd ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
42.
Paddock-Ellard, K. , & Thomas, S. (1981). Attitudes of young adolescents toward marriage, divorce, and children of divorce. Journal of Early Adolescence, 1, 303-310.
43.
Piotrowski, C. (1983). Factor structure on the semantic differential as a function of the method of analysis. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 43, 283-288.
44.
Piotrowski, C. , & Dunham, F. Y. (1984). Stability of factor structure on the semantic differential: Retest data. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 44, 449-454.
45.
Sabatelli, R. M. , & Anderson, S. A. (1991). Family system dynamics, peer relationships and adolescents psychological adjustment. Family Relations, 40, 363-369.
46.
Sabatelli, R. M. , & Bartle, S. E. (1995). Survey approaches to the assessment of family functioning: Conceptual, operational, and analytical issues. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 57, 1025-1039.
47.
Simons, R. L. , Whitbeck, L. B., Conger, R. D., & Wu, C. (1991). Intergenerational transmission of harsh parenting. Developmental Psychology, 27, 159-171.
48.
Snyder, C. R. , & Osgood, C. E. (Eds.). (1969). Semantic differential technique: A sourcebook. Chicago: Aldine.
49.
Trent, K. , & South, S. J. (1992). Sociodemographic status, parental background, childhood family structure, and attitudes toward family formation. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 54, 427-429.
50.
Wallerstein, J. (1985). Children of divorce: Preliminary report of a ten-year follow-up of older children and adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Clinical Psychiatry, 24, 545-553.
51.
Wallin, P. (1954). Marital happiness of parents and their children's attitude to marriage. American Sociological Review, 19, 20-23.
52.
West, J. D. , Gintner, G. G., & Zarski, J. J. (1989). Associations among family systems dimensions and stress. Family Therapy, 16, 121-132.
53.
West, J. D. , Hosie, T. W., & Zarski, J. J. (1987). Family dynamics and substance abuse: A preliminary study. Journal of Counseling and Development, 65, 487-490.
54.
West, J. D. , Zarski, J. J., & Harvill, R. (1986). The influence of the family triangle on intimacy. American Mental Health Counselors Association Journal, 8, 166-174.
55.
Williamson, D. S. (1981). Personal authority via termination of the intergenerational hierarchical boundary: A “new” stage in the family life cycle. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 7, 441-452.
56.
Williamson, D. S. (1982). Personal authority in family experience via termination of the intergenerational hierarchical boundary: Part III—Personal authority defined, and the power of play in the process of change. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 8, 309-323.
