Second-generation Arab Immigrants and Differentiation

Abstract

This master thesis explores the widespread use of the concept of differentiation and related assessment tools, and whether these concepts and measurements can be reliably and validly used for second-generation Arab immigrants. This qualitative study focuses on Bowen’s concept of differentiation, and in particular using the revised version of the Differentiation of Self Inventory (DSI-R). The purpose of the study is to learn more about how second-generation Arab immigrants experience differentiation and how they perceive specific items in the DSI-R. To gather the data, interviews were conducted with 10 second-generation Arab immigrants, followed by the completion of the DSI-R. Follow up interviews were conducted based on the results of the DSI-R to better understand their experience of differentiation, as well as the scale. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed, and four meaning units were extracted from the data: decision making, connection, self, and duality. These themes will be helpful in better understanding this population’s experience of differentiation and its relevance to them, and will help inform culturally-sensitive approaches to psychotherapy.