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Using Bowen Theory to Examine Progress in Couple Therapy

The purpose of this investigation was to test whether differentiation of self in couple members affected the trajectories of marital satisfaction, marital commitment, and individual well-being across the early sessions of therapy while taking into account the level of distress the couple was experiencing. The sample consisted of 127 couples seeking services at an on-campus couple and family therapy clinic. A latent growth curve modeling approach was used for data analysis. Even though differentiation of self or distress levels were not found to be predictive of change in marital satisfaction, commitment, or well-being, for both husbands and wives higher levels of differentiation were predictive of lower distress scores and higher baseline scores for well-being. Higher levels of distress were associated with lower levels of marital satisfaction for both husbands and wives. When there was a change in commitment, both husbands and wives seemed to change together. Implications of the results for clinical practice and future research are discussed.