Differentiation and test anxiety in adolescents

The study tested several propositions about an important construct in Bowenʹs (Family Therapy in Clinical Practice, Aronson, New York, 1978; Family Evaluation, Norton, New York, 1988) theory of differentiation, using an Israeli sample of adolescents to examine relationships between differentiation of self, family differentiation, test anxiety, trait anxiety and cognitive performance. The main findings were that family differentiation (specifically, adolescents’ relationships with their mothers) was negatively correlated with levels of test and trait anxiety and positively correlated with cognitive performance. All scales of differentiation of self, particularly emotional reactivity and I-position, were negatively correlated with both types of anxiety. Results suggest that differentiation is a meaningful construct for Israeli adolescents, and that less differentiated adolescents may be at risk for high levels of test anxiety and low levels of cognitive performance. Treatment of test-anxious adolescents therefore requires consideration of possible difficulties in individuating and differentiating from their families of origin.