Research in Bowen Theory
Research guided by Bowen theory is key to the effort to develop a science of human behavior. The theory promotes a research attitude, whether studying one’s own family, consulting with a family in psychotherapy, or studying other types of emotional systems. Murray Bowen developed his theory through formal and informal clinical research. Important principles guiding the original research remain crucial for Bowen theory research today. Bowen’s discussion of theory and science are featured in “An Odyssey toward Science,” the epilogue to Family Evaluation by Michael Kerr (1988). Dr. Bowen insisted that viable connections with the sciences were foundational to bridging a relationship between family systems theory and other scientific fields. To that end, experts in such fields as entomology, primatology, anthropology, biology, etc. have been guest speakers at the Annual Symposium.
Bowen observed a difference between what people say they do and what they actually do. Since he aimed toward a science of human behavior, he wanted to know what people really do. In his original study at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), eleven families lived on the research unit up to three years. Seven additional families were seen as outpatients. The participating families were observed twenty-four hours a day and their behavior recorded in detail. The study relied on this data of actual behavior rather than on subjective accounts. Early NIMH reports are annotated by Jack Butler in The Origins of Family Psychotherapy (2013).
As an outcome of the NIMH study, Bowen shifted his view toward the family emotional system as the unit of study, rather an individual member. Once the focus of research shifts from the individual to the system, the family looks entirely different and more complex than a cause-and-effect linear model permits. Changes in one individual are associated with changes in others. Guided by systems thinking, researchers consider simultaneously multiple variables and their interactions with each other.
A research perspective dramatically affects the psychotherapy process, which then considers the relationship between a symptom and the nuclear and multigenerational family emotional process. Facts of functioning for all family members and shifts in relationships are part of the ongoing assessment of family functioning. Ideally, one or more family members begin to see their family as a research project, which contributes to improved functioning.
In addition to the ongoing projects listed on this page, the Bowen Center has supported research by Center faculty as well as in the larger network of Bowen theorists, nationally and internationally. The Center offers research seminars for those developing ideas or working on ongoing studies. The annual Caskie Research Award was established in 2002 to provide financial support. Many faculty projects are included in Handbook of Bowen Family Systems Theory and Research Methods: A Systems Model for Family Research, edited by Mignonette Keller and Robert Noone (2020). In addition, research efforts are featured in the journal Family Systems as well as at the Annual Symposium and Spring Conference.
Laura Brooks moderates a monthly Research Committee meeting, where research ideas or ongoing studies are presented for discussion. The committee is available to students of Bowen theory who want to consult on the development of their thinking.
For more information, please contact Laura Brooks.
Current Research
THE ADOPTIVE FAMILY STUDY
This study is a longitudinal, qualitative study of adoptive families that addresses the question of why children in the same family turn out differently. Since 2005, long-term case studies have been conducted with eight adoptive families, some with both adopted and birth children. The study provides an in-depth view of the impact of two concepts in Bowen theory on child outcome: family projection process and intergenerational emotional cutoff. The longitudinal design allows for observations of the family unit’s response to varying degrees of stress and anxiety over time. The qualitative design includes multiple variables in the family emotional system.
Annual interviews with the adoptive families have documented the facts of functioning of at least three generations of the family. In the first long-term case study, three patterns of family projection were identified in transcribed interviews: mutual sensitivity, overfunctioning/underfunctioning reciprocity, and difficulty seeing self and the other objectively. More recently, a second case study has focused on how intergenerational emotional cutoff between the parents and their own parents contributes to the intensity of family projection in the nuclear family. Patterns of cutoff were identified as unresolved emotional attachment between the mother and her parents, reciprocal interactions, and limited contact.
Thus far, the data suggest that the level of cutoff and family projection in adoptive family relationships affects each child differently. While family anxiety is fluid, how each parental triangle operates appears to be predictable and repetitive.Those children who are more the focus of the family projection process are more vulnerable to symptoms, especially when anxiety in the system increases. Intergenerational emotional cutoff appears to contribute to the intensity of family projection. While an adopted child may be viewed as more "special" or vulnerable to a family projection process, many other factors in the nuclear and extended family are important to understanding the emotional process. Future directions for the Adoptive Family Study include ongoing observation of multigenerational family variables that affect the nuclear family.
THE USE OF LANGUAGE IN BOWEN THEORY & Practice-Based Evidence of Bowen Theory
The Use of Language in Bowen Theory
Murray Bowen used ordinary language to describe the variables and concepts of his theory. Yet the meaning of every term of the theory is informed and qualified by the meaning of every other term used in the theory. The language in Bowen theory attempts to represent predictable patterns of family functioning under a variety of conditions. Drawing out more fully the meaning of key terms when they are considered in relation to one another adds to the precision of the theory. If the theory is accurate, this method provides a more nuanced understanding of how the family emotional system actually functions. The more precisely the language of the theory can be defined, the more readily conceptual links can be made to emerging knowledge in the life sciences and the more readily hypotheses can be formulated to test and extend theory.
A description of this approach can be found in: “Use of the Term Solid Self in Bowen Theory.” Family Systems 10(1): 43-62 (2013).
Practice-Based Evidence of Bowen Theory
Murray Bowen began to develop his theory of family emotional functioning in the course of doing family research at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), 1954-59. He subsequently wrote, “Theory and therapy developed as an integrated unit, with psychotherapy determined by theory.” (Family Therapy in Clinical Practice, 471) The close integration of theory and therapy provides a basis for testing the efficacy of Bowen theory in clinical research.
THE IMPACT OF REACTIVITY IN FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS ON HEALTH AND REPRODUCTION, FAMILY SYSTEMS IN REGULATION OF PHYSIOLOGICAL REACTIVITY AND ANXIETY, & OBSERVATIONS OF CHANGE PROJECT
The Impact of Reactivity in Family Relationships on Health and Reproduction (1980 – present)
The focus of this research has been using Bowen theory to study the impact of reactivity in the family system on health and reproduction, both in producing symptoms and in providing stability for functioning. This broad direction includes investigating the research literature from many fields that study emotional systems and the regulation of reproduction by reactivity to the natural environment and to relationships along human phylogenetic history. This includes research from reproductive medicine, endocrinology, biology, neuroscience, population research, social psychology, and child development, looking at how relationships govern individual physiology, behavior, and relationship patterns. This also extends to research in neuroscience and biology on the evolution of the human capacity for differentiation of self. An initial study of ovulation patterns indicated that contact and emotional cutoff between family members is an important factor in stress reactions that affect ovulation. This study was published in “Patterns of Ovulation, Reactivity, and Family Emotional Process.” The Integrative Neurobiology of Affiliation. Annals of the NY Academy of the Sciences 807:522-524, 1997; and in “Family Emotional Process, Reactivity, and Patterns of Ovulation.” Family Systems 4(1):49-62. 1997. A review of research on relationship systems, brains and biology, and the regulation of reproduction in species along the phylogenetic lineage from single cell to humans provides a backdrop for understanding the family as an emotional system that regulates the biology and behavior of individuals to a degree that is modulated in part by levels of differentiation of self. A comparison of ovulation regulation is published in “Emotional Systems and the Regulation of Reproduction with Ovulation as an Illustration” in The Family Emotional System: An Integrative Concept for Theory, Science, and Practice*. Robert J. Noone and Daniel V. Papero, eds. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2015.
Family Systems in Regulation of Physiological Reactivity and Anxiety (1995-Present)
A broad review of research as a context for contributions of this study to the field of family research
Continued analysis of measures of physiological reactivity (EDR, EMG, and DST) for three triangles in one family of five to identify patterns associated with emotional fusion and more independent functioning
Comparison of physiological reactivity in families with fewer health and mental health symptoms
Initial publication based on this research includes: “Contribution of Nuclear Family Triangles to Variation in Physiological Reactivity.” Family Systems 9(2):145-153. 2013.
Observations of Change Project (2013 - Present)
Twenty-five volunteers from the Bowen Center’s Postgraduate Program document physiological measures and salivary cortisol, along with facts about contact with family members, symptoms, and work on differentiation of self during each year. The data for each participant will initially be organized into separate case studies: sixteen people with one year of data; seven people with two years of data, and two people with three years of data. A three-generation family diagram and facts about the history of each family, along with documentation of nodal events that occur, allow examination of variation in changes in anxious physiology and in symptoms and functioning of each family in light of factors that Bowen theory identifies (estimated levels of differentiation of self, emotional cutoff, and degrees of chronic anxiety). Observations of the changes will be discussed in relation to literature from therapy outcome research, adverse childhood experience research, and the study of epigenetic factors.
IMPLICATIONS OF BOWEN THEORY FOR PUBLIC HEALTH & IMPLICATIONS OF BOWEN THEORY FOR SPIRITUALITY
Implications of Bowen Theory for Public Health
The researcher's background in public health includes long-term care policy, maternal and child health, population health epidemiology, community health assessment, community health improvement planning, public health infrastructure, partnerships, and the social determinants of health. She now works to apply a Bowen theory perspective to public health. Recently she has focused on the implications of Bowen theory in adverse childhood events, the social determinants of health, healthy aging, and the effects of major societal events, including United Airlines Flight 93 and the Flint water crisis. She thinks that place-based determinants of health influence the health not only of individuals but, more importantly, of the entire family organism.
Implications of Bowen Theory for Spirituality
Barbara Laymon’s dissertation research was a quantitative analysis of individuality and togetherness and the interaction of spirituality with these constructs. She is currently working on an analysis of individuality and togetherness, along with the eight concepts of Bowen Theory, in the Sunday scripture readings of the Revised Common Lectionary.
RESEARCH HANDBOOK & MILD COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT
Handbook of Bowen Family Systems Theory and Research Methods: A Systems Model for Family Research
Mignonette N. Keller and Robert J. Noone, editors
This twenty-four chapter, multi-author volume discusses the links between theory, data collection, and data analysis based on Bowen family systems theory. It presents new and innovative approaches to address the multifaceted issues inherent in family research. The core concepts within the theory are discussed, with emphasis on theoretical and methodological issues encountered in empirical research. For several decades, the sociological and psychological theories that have dominated the family field have been derived largely from logical deduction and are based on phenomena other than the human family. Few empirical studies are based on theoretical models developed from the study of the human family and applied in family research. This book provides a comprehensive framework for expanding understanding of both theoretical and methodological issues in family research. The book accomplishes this through in-depth discussion of issues and examples of the application of Bowen theory as follows:
Bowen family systems theory provides a comprehensive, overarching conceptual framework for family research that addresses the phases of the research process, including theory, data collection, and data analysis.
Bowen theory includes core concepts for addressing such recurring family research issues as: stress, anxiety, differentiation of self, emotional cutoff, the multigenerational transmission process, and the nuclear family emotional system.
Qualitative and quantitative strategies are explored to expand areas of investigation in which previous approaches have proven ineffective in providing a comprehensive understanding of family relationships within the nuclear and extended families.
Researchers and practitioners from a broad range of fields - psychology, sociology, nursing, social work, psychiatry, ecology, medicine, and anthropology - provide the outlines for new directions in family research. These include links with health care and nursing to address a wide range of social, emotional, and physical problems at family and societal levels.
Stress, Mild Cognitive Impairment, and the Family Emotional System
A growing body of research over several decades has investigated the relationship between stressful life events and health. This proposed five-year longitudinal study will identify and evaluate mechanisms within the family relationship system that influence the disease process in family members diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). There is increasing interest in MCI, which is a stage between normal aging and more serious memory and cognitive conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, unlike AD, which is an irreversible, terminal neurological condition, some individuals with MCI improve, others never decline, and some develop AD. A compelling question to be addressed is what factors account for the variability in outcomes.
It is hypothesized that mechanisms within the family relationship system influence the onset and course of MCI. The independent variables are: (1) resilient families and (2) stressed families. The dependent variable are: (1) stress, (2) anxiety, (3) level of differentiation of self, and (4) level of emotional cutoff.
In resilient families, the relationships among family members are positive and intact with a low occurrence of serious physical, emotional, and behavioral problems. In stressed families, the relationships among family members are conflictual, fragmented, distant, and detached, with many serious physical, emotional, and behavioral problems.
The subjects will include a sample of fifty families that have a family member diagnosed with MCI. Criteria for participation by families are: (1) having a primary informant who can provide multigenerational family data spanning three to five generations, (2) agreement by the members diagnosed with MCI to biennial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans and computed tomography (CT) scans, and (3) agreement to provide annual multigenerational family history updates.
The study will involve collaboration with researchers from major educational institutions. The subjects will be selected from memory programs in the Baltimore/Washington Metropolitan Area. Neuroscientists will collect and analyze data using the MRI scans. Clinicians and researchers skilled in Bowen family systems theory will collect and analyze multigenerational family data.
The study will include qualitative and quantitative methods of data analysis. The qualitative methods of data analysis will include three strategies: (1) observation of nuclear family emotional process, (2) variable-oriented analysis, and (3) case-oriented analysis. The quantitative analysis will include MRI and CT scans of family members diagnosed with MCI. Data will be examined to identify mechanisms within the family relationship systems that influence the course of the disease process.
Bowen’s Research
NIMH PROJECT
The National Institute of Mental Health Project (1954-1959)
The Family Study Project, conducted on the NIMH campus in Bethesda, MD, 1954-1959, involved admitting families with a scizophrenic member to a special inpatient ward at NIMH. This study remains a landmark undertaking in family research. Its results have been widely published and continue to generate interest. Bowen's classic book, Family Therapy in Clinical Practice (1978) reviews the project in its early chapters. Some of the original papers are published in an edited book(Bowen 2013). Catherine Rakow's careful analysis of the project nursing notes also make important contributions.Interested readers cannot help being impressed with the scope, theory development, and applications to clinical practice. Bowen's interest in schizophrenic families stands on the shoulders of his training and staff work at the Menninger Foundation, 1946-1954.
In brief, the project consisted of two parts: the first year and the years that followed. During the first year, mother-daughter pairs, selected primarily on the basis of the intensity of their emotional attachment, were admitted to a ward adapted for up to three families. Each daughter was diagnosed as schizophrenic. Traditional psychotherapy was provided, that is, individual psychotherapy for the mother and for the daughter. The degree of emotional intensity of the dyads, and of the interactions of staff and families, were unexpected. Staff had an ongoing challenge to manage their reactions to the families. The emotionality threatened the continuation of the project. However, detailed observations guided the staff in addressing their reactivity and recognizing that the symptomatic dyads were nested in a larger family emotional system.
During the remaining years of the project, theory and clinical practice changed significantly. With recognition of the family as an emotional system, fathers and non-symptomatic siblings also were admitted to the unit. Individual psychotherapy was discontinued and replaced by daily staff-family groups. One goal of the groups was to place the emotionality back into the family rather than in a therapeutic relationship. Given this, the traditional role of the psychotherapist also dramatically shifted to a new position unknown in mental health. The effort became to identify family leaders and assist them in helping their own family vs.having the therapist act as expert.
The seminal contributions of the NIMH Family Study Project include an often-overlooked finding: the connection of physical symptoms and emotionality. One project psychiatrist conducted "sick call" for all family members during the last part of the study. He observed that "in the research families, it was a common phenomenon for one family member to develop a physical illness in response to anxiety in the other." (Bowen 2013, 165) The project also concluded it was possible to have a long-term study of families in an inpatient setting. Family patterns still recognized today such as emotional divorces and over- and underfunctioning were noted in project papers. A central finding was the emergence of the concept that the family is emotionally interdependent. This was a much different framework than a focus on an individual and his or her symptoms. Lastly, a method of family psychotherapy focusing on the family unit and a resulting new role for the therapist were derived.
References
Bowen, M. 1978. Family Therapy in Clinical Practice. New York: Jason Aronson.
Bowen, M. 2004. "Family Psychotherapy in Office Practice." Family Systems, 7, 1, 29-44
Bowen, M. 2013. The Origins of Family Psychotherapy: the NIMH Family Study Project. Landham, MD: Jason Aronson.
Rakow, C. 2013. "Analyzing Observational Data from Bowen's NIMH Project: Two Months of Nursing Notes: August 1955 and October 1956." Family Systems Forum, 15, 3, 1-2; 11-15.
Rakow, C. 2016. "Learning from the Nurses from Bowen's 1954-1959 NIMH Project: A Window into the Development of Theory." Family Systems, 11, 1, 133-164.
MENNINGER FOUNDATION (1946-1954)
At the Menninger Foundation, Bowen did experimental work with people with schizophrenia and alcoholism, the most serious of human psychological problems. He adapted psychoanalytic methods to explore his research interests. Contact with families was not considered contaminating to clinical work with the patient. So he had a social worker meet with families. Patients whose families had casework support and were participants in the overall treatment process did a little better. Research with both inpatients and outpatients used variations of a method designed to test psychoanalytic precepts and practice.
This research led to a view of the human as having a capacity to form symbiotic relationships well beyond developmental need, which, in concert with certain environmental conditions, regulated the emergence of symptoms.
This led to observing parent and impaired child in symbiotic attachment, in vivo, and seeing, in a richly supportive, neutral environment, if the symbiosis would resolve. Continuous observation of several sets of relationships allowed close monitoring of symptoms.
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