International Journal of Family Therapy

Differentiation of self is defined at the interpersonal level as the ability to achieve emotional autonomy from the family of origin while maintaining a degree of connectedness and at the intrapsychic level as the capacity to distinguish thoughts from feelings (Kerr and Bowen (1988) Family evaluation. W. W. Norton and Company, New York). Research indicates that differentiation of self is positively related to well-being (Skowron et al. (2009) Contemp Fam Ther 31:3–18. doi: 10.1007/s10591-008-9075-1 ; Murdock and Gore (2004) Contemp Fam Ther 26(3):319–335. doi: 10.1023/B:COFT.0000037918.53929.18 ), and that cultural forces of individualism and collectivism may affect this relationship (Chung and Gale (2006) Contemp Fam Ther 28:367–381. doi: 10.1007/s10591-006-9013-z ). However, no previous studies have looked at the impact of self-construal, or how one views the self in relation to others, on the relationship between differentiation of self and well-being at the individual level. The purpose of this study was to determine if self-construal moderates the relationship between differentiation of self and well-being among US college students, with a focus on within-culture variation. The results indicated that differentiation of self is positively correlated with independent self-construal and negatively correlated with interdependent self-construal. In addition, independent self-construal moderates the relationship between differentiation of self and well-being such that high levels of independent self-construal serve as a buffer to psychological symptoms for those with low levels of differentiation of self. We also found that fusion and emotional reactivity, aspects of differentiation of self, mediate the relationship between interdependent self-construal and well-being.

In this cross-sectional study we analyzed the links between marital quality and intimacy, body image, and psychological quality of life (PQoL) of breast cancer patients, as well as the moderating role of cancer phase (treatment, survivorship) on the aforementioned links. We also evaluated whether body image mediated the associations between marital relationship variables and PQoL. An analysis of the data from 128 patients (66 undergoing treatment, 62 survivors) indicated that the majority of links between variables were significant only during the treatment phase. Mediating effect of body image on the associations between relationship variables and PQoL was found only at the treatment phase.