Understanding Emotional Maturity: Bowen's Differentiation of Self

When considering the development of emotional maturity or the concept of differentiation of self from a psychological perspective, the pioneer systems family theorist Dr. Murray Bowen remains of the most referenced sources. Bowen, starting in early 1974, was one of the first to advance the concept of differentiation of self, as one where ‘The emotional maturity of the individual to interact with others, his or her level of cognition, individuality, self, ego, independence and ability to detach from the emotional problems of others” can be measured, generally on a scale of 1 to 100 with 100 being the most desirable result. Bowen considered the struggle of differentiation to be a lifelong pursuit, and would later extend its application from

If we extend this belief as being one of a distinctive creation and as also being part of a wider “family of God” and the missionary zeal which often accompanies it as desiring that others might also be a part of it, we immediately begin to see parallels with Bowen’s systems theory. Furthermore, it is the belief that God has called upon the believer while acknowledging they our part of this world, nevertheless, in their metaphysical journey, should seek to separate themselves from the material world, as they approach a union with God’s spirit, shares characteristic of Bowen’s progression towards higher self-differentiation. (Leighton,

The greater the level of devotion and dedication would also suggest a certain of permanency in nature, in contrast to Bowen’s assertion that many feelings of self-differentiation are fleeting, temporal, or simply the result of the present circumstances. As William James rightly contends, just because an experience, custom, ritual or trait falls into the category of “Religion or Mysticism” is no reason to discount its validity or worth in the formation of a hypothesis or theory. Additional research is required into other aspects of self-differentiation such as fusion and cut-off as it relates to both religion and religious leadership as absent of any available modern studies, this would help broaden our understanding and application of present family