Social anxiety and differentiation of self: A comparison of Jewish and Arab college students

Personality and Individual Differences 68 (2014) 221–228

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Social anxiety and differentiation of self: A comparison of Jewish and Arab college students Ora Peleg ⇑, Maissara Zoabi The Max Stern Yezreel Academic College, Israel

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history: Received 13 February 2014 Received in revised form 23 April 2014 Accepted 28 April 2014 Available online 27 May 2014 Keywords: Social anxiety Differentiation of self Jews Arabs Christians Muslims Druze

a b s t r a c t This study examined the relationship between differentiation of self and social anxiety, comparing young Jewish and Arab college students in Israel and looking at gender differences. The sample consisted of 300 college students: 127 Jews and 173 Arabs (107 Muslims, 43 Christians and 23 Druze). Of these, 175 were males and 123 females, while 2 did not specify their gender. Results indicated that Jews reported higher levels of I-position and lower levels of emotional cutoff than Arabs. Females reported higher levels of emotional reactivity and fusion with others than males. On the whole, results lend support to the universality of Family Systems Theory and point to the importance of examining differentiation of self when trying to decrease social anxiety. Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction Recent years have witnessed increased interest in research on Family Systems Theory and its implementation (Bowen, 1978; Kerr & Bowen, 1988). According to the theory, the human family is a multigenerational emotional system that influences the functioning and anxiety of the individual. One of the most important patterns that is transmitted from generation to generation is differentiation of self. A series of studies has found differentiation of self to be associated with anxiety and well-being (e.g., Skowron & Friedlander, 1998; Skowron, Stanley, & Shapiro, 2009). Specifically, social anxiety was found to be influenced by differentiation of self and transferred multigenerationally (Peleg, 2005). Most of the research was carried out among participants from individualist societies (e.g., Jankowski & Hooper, 2012; Skowron & Dendy, 2004; Skowron et al., 2009), while only a few have examined these patterns within collectivist societies (e.g., LeFebvre & Franke, 2013; Peleg & Rahal, 2012). Thus far, no research has investigated the relationship between differentiation of self and social anxiety and differentiation of self comparing members of an individualist society with those of a collectivist society. The aim of the present research is to examine cross-cultural differences in

⇑ Corresponding author. Address: The Max Stern Yezreel Academic College, Emek Yezreel, Israel. Tel.: +972 528735806/548031453; fax: +972 46423512. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (O. Peleg), [email protected] (M. Zoabi). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2014.04.032 0191-8869/Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

these variables among Jewish and Arab (Muslim, Druze and Christian) college students living in Israel, with the former representing an individualist society and the latter representing a collectivist one. 1.1. Differentiation of self Differentiation of self is the ability of individuals to create a balance between intimacy and autonomy in their relations with significant others, as well as between their intellectual and emotional levels, when coping with anxiety- and stress-producing situations. Kerr and Bowen (1988) argued that individuals with high levels of differentiation of self tend to cope more effectively in various situations, while those with low levels of differentiation of self experience higher levels of chronic anxiety, function less effectively in stressful situations, and therefore suffer more from psychological and physiological symptoms. According to Bowen, four factors are indicators of a person’s level of differentiation of self: emotional reactivity, the ability to take an I-position, emotional cutoff and fusion with others. Emotional reactivity taps a person’s tendency to react to stress by irrational emotional flooding. I-position describes one’s ability to stand up for oneself and independently express one’s will. Emotional cutoff taps one’s tendency to isolate oneself and cut off relations as a way of dealing with tension and symbiotic relationships. Finally, fusion with others reflects the tendency to create dependent relationships with significant others.

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Differentiation of self has been the focus of a great deal of theoretical research and has been clinically implemented extensively. A series of studies have examined the relationship between it and mental and physical health. Findings from recent studies reveal positive correlations between differentiation of self and psychological well-being (Skowron et al., 2009), marital satisfaction (Peleg & Yitzhak, 2010) and marital adjustment (Skowron, 2000). Negative correlations were found between differentiation of self and trait anxiety (Skowron & Friedlander, 1998), separation anxiety (Peleg, Halaby, & Whaby, 2006; Peleg & Yitzhak, 2010), symptoms of depression (Elieson & Rubin, 2001) and social anxiety (Peleg, 2002, 2004).

1.2. Social anxiety Social anxiety, also known as social phobia, is defined as anxiety characterized by fear of social situations in which the individual is exposed to unfamiliar people and is afraid she/he will suddenly show signs of anxiety and be humiliated or embarrassed. Exposure to social situations dreaded by the individual frequently causes panic attacks (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). It was not until 1980, in the third edition of the DSM, that social anxiety was classified as a psychological disorder and included as a separate category. It is defined there as constant fear of situations in which the individual is examined and evaluated by others and expects that his or her behavior will cause embarrassment and humiliation. In 1994, two types of social anxiety were added: generalized social phobia and specific social phobia. Specific social phobia refers to fear of one or two social situations – for example, public speaking or eating in public. In comparison, generalized social phobia is diagnosed when an individual fears many types of social situations. The links between social anxiety and family variables have been reported by several researchers. One study indicated that social anxiety is related to attachment and parenting patterns (Higa, Fernandez, Nakamura, Chorpita, & Daleiden, 2006). Another supported the finding that social anxiety is related to family patterns and is transmitted from parents to offspring in a multigenerational transmission process (Bartle-Haring & Gavazzi, 1996). An Israeli study (Peleg-Popko & Dar, 2001) found children’s social anxiety to be positively related to family cohesion and inversely related to marital quality. It was suggested that intensive closeness creates over-protection, and that the dynamics of fused families, which are characterized by emotional dependence and lack of autonomy, may induce a sense of confusion, stress and anxiety in the child. Indeed, another study conducted in Israel (Peleg, 2002) found a negative relation between social anxiety (particularly fear of negative evaluation) and physiological symptoms (e.g., headaches, stomach aches), on the one hand, and family differentiation, on the other. Results suggested that less differentiated individuals may be at risk of higher levels of social anxiety and symptomatology. Another study carried out in Israel found a negative correlation between social anxiety and differentiation of self (Peleg, 2005). The study tested the relationships between parents’ differentiation of self and offspring’s social anxiety, using a sample of university students and their parents to reflect family patterns across three generations. The main finding confirmed that parents’ levels of social anxiety and differentiation (differentiation of self and family differentiation) were positively related to those of their offspring. Moreover, students’ social anxiety was inversely related to their parents’ levels of differentiation. Specifically, differentiation of self was found to especially correlate with fear of negative evaluation. The research supported Bowen’s argument regarding multigenerational transmission (Kerr & Bowen, 1988), inasmuch as it found that both social anxiety and differentiation of self are transferred from one generation to another.

1.3. Cross-cultural research Studies examining the relationship between differentiation of self and mental health have largely been carried out among participants from Western societies; only a few have examined this relationship among participants from Eastern-collectivist societies. Some studies found that participants from collectivist societies reported lower levels of differentiation of self and higher levels of psychological distress in comparison to participants from individualist societies (e.g., Hornsey, Jetten, McAuliffe, & Hogg, 2006; Tuason & Friedlander, 2000). A study that examined differences between Korean college students and American students of European origin regarding the relationships between differentiation of self, self-esteem and symptoms of depression found the ability to take I-positions to be the strongest predictor of self-esteem and symptoms of depression in both groups, supporting previous research pointing to higher levels of I-position among participants from collectivist societies (Peleg & Rahal, 2012; Peleg et al., 2006; Tuason & Friedlander, 2000). However, the relationship between the level of differentiation of self and psychological well-being among American students was stronger than that found among Korean participants. The researchers concluded that, even though differentiation of self is more valued in individualist societies, it can serve as a significant construct for understanding psychological adjustment in both ethnic groups (Chung & Gale, 2009). In a series of recent studies carried out among Jewish and Arab college students in Israel, several cross-cultural differences were found in levels of differentiation of self. For example, Arab participants reported a higher level of I-position than their Jewish counterparts (Biadessa-Ashkar & Peleg, 2013; Peleg & Rahal, 2012; Peleg et al., 2006). Furthermore, while no significant differences were found in the total score of differentiation of self between Druze and Jewish mothers, the I-position and fusion with others subscales were higher among the former (Peleg et al., 2006). Another recent study in Israel (Peleg & Rahal, 2012) examined differences in levels of differentiation of self and their relationship to physiological symptoms among Jews and Arabs living in Israel. Results pointed to a negative correlation between differentiation of self and physiological symptoms, with the correlation stronger among Jews. Strong predictors of physiological symptoms were the emotional reactivity dimension among Jewish and Arab women and the emotional cutoff dimension among Jewish men. In addition, a significant interactional effect was found: there was a wide gap between Jewish women and men in their levels of emotional reactivity, while similar levels were found among Arab women and men. Among Arab men, no factors were found to significantly contribute to the level of physiological symptoms. The study concluded that the level of differentiation of self is important in all societies and is related to the physical and mental functioning of the individual; however, its relation to physiological symptoms is more salient in individualist societies than in collectivist ones. Differences between ethnic groups may also affect their ability to cope with anxiety. Studies have shown that people from collectivist backgrounds are more likely to report higher levels of anxiety and depression (Dwairy, 1997, 2002). Moreover, being a collectivist minority group, Arab families in Israel often bond closely, and children tend to report higher levels of worry, anxiety and somatic symptoms (e.g., Peleg & Rahal, 2012; Peleg et al., 2006). The present study thus examines the differences between Jewish and Arab college students in Israel in terms of their levels of social anxiety and differentiation of self, as well as the magnitude of the correlation between these two variables in each group. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate these variables among two ethnic groups living in the same country.

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1.4. The Israeli context The current study was conducted among Jewish and Arab college students living in Israel. Jews and Arabs comprise the two main ethnic groups in the country, differing from each other in their familial patterns. Secular Jewish families, which comprise the majority of the population, are usually characterized by Western customs and democratic relations. At the same time, the Jewish community is made up of a varied cultural fabric. The sector of Jews born in Middle Eastern and North African countries (Sephardi) is well-known for its patriarchal relationships, while the sector with roots in Europe and North America (Ashkenazi) tends more toward equality within the family (Biadessa-Ashkar & Peleg, 2013; Peleg et al., 2006). Due to cultural modernization processes, both secular Jewish groups have merged and their cultural differences have lessened considerably over the years (Weiss, 2003). Arab citizens of the State of Israel (Muslims, Christians and Druze) differ from the Jewish majority in terms of language, religion, culture, historic narrative, geographical areas and education system (Zidani, 2005). Most Arabs are highly segregated from the Jewish population, living mainly in villages and small towns in three geo-cultural areas – the Galilee, the Triangle, and the Negev – with only 10% residing in ethnically mixed cities, such as Haifa and Jaffa. Christian Arabs and Druze are more likely to live in Western urban areas, while Muslims mainly reside in more isolated and conservative rural areas (Al-Haj, 1991). As a collectivist minority, Arab families tend to have close bonds. Moreover, because of daily hardship and social norms, offspring tend to live with their parents well into adulthood, often in the same household with grandparents. Such living arrangements may promote conflict, dependence and blurred boundaries, as well as lower levels of differentiation of self (Peleg & Rahal, 2012). The Arab population consists of Muslims (primarily Sunni) (84%), but also has smaller sub-populations of Christians (8%) and Druze (8%). In terms of education, Christians fared the best in comparison to any other group. Thus, for example, in 2011 the number of Arab Christian students eligible for a high school diploma stood at 64% in comparison to 48% among Muslim children, 55% among Druze and 59% in the Jewish education system in general. They were also the vanguard in terms of eligibility for higher education: 56% of Christians, compared with 50% of Jewish students, 36% of Druze students and 34% of Muslims, received a high school diploma that met the basic demands of Israeli universities (ICBS, 2011). Arab society is in flux, moving from a collectivist toward an individualist society, and most Arab Muslims and Arab Christians living in Israel are considered bicultural (Dwairy, 2009). This is a stage of transition between tradition and modernity, where an attempt is made to mimic the norms of Western culture without actually incorporating them. The transition can be observed in many areas, such as the move to a limited, nuclear family, change in the individual’s and women’s status, and education (Abu Abas, 2007; Kaufman, Abu Baker, & Saar, 2012). At the same time, family, religion and tradition continue to be highly appreciated. Accordingly, social relations are based on duty and faithfulness to family and friends, rather than on personal needs. Individuals are not encouraged to be independent or fulfill their desires and expectations, but rather to adhere to community norms (Kaufman et al., 2012). While this process has weakened collectivist familial life, as well as the values of the traditional culture, it has not led to the construction of a strong modern identity (Central Bureau of Statistics., 2012; Sharabi, 1988). 1.5. Research hypotheses Research has found differences in some dimensions of differentiation of self between participants from collectivist and

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individualist cultures, but findings are inconclusive as to which of the subscales differ between cultures. In some studies, participants from collectivist societies reported higher levels of I-position (e.g., Biadessa-Ashkar & Peleg, 2013; Peleg et al., 2006; Tuason & Friedlander, 2000) and emotional reactivity (e.g., Biadessa-Ashkar & Peleg, 2013; Chung & Gale, 2006; Tuason & Friedlander, 2000); in others, differences were found in the levels of emotional cutoff (Peleg & Rahal, 2012) and fusion with others (Peleg et al., 2006). As one aim of the present study is to reassess differences in the levels of differentiation of self among Jews and Arabs living in Israel, our first hypothesis was that Arab college students would report lower levels of differentiation of self (emotional reactivity, I-position, emotional cutoff and fusion with others) than their Jewish counterparts. Given that participants from collectivist societies tend to express higher levels of anxiety and distress (e.g., Dwairy, 1997, 2009; Peleg-Popko, Klingman, & Nahhas, 2003), the second hypothesis predicted that Arab students would report higher levels of social anxiety (fear of negative evaluations, avoidance and distress in new situations, avoidance and distress in general situations) than their Jewish counterparts. Furthermore, as differentiation of self was found to be negatively correlated with psychological and physical health (e.g., Peleg et al., 2006; Solomon, Dekel, Zerach, & Horesh, 2009; Taska et al., 2009), and specifically with social anxiety (Peleg, 2002, 2005), the third study hypothesis predicted a negative relationship between social anxiety and differentiation of self among both ethnic groups. Finally, in keeping with differences found in the magnitude of the correlation between differentiation of self and functioning between participants from collectivist and individualist societies (e.g., Biadessa-Ashkar & Peleg, 2013; Chung & Gale, 2006; Dwairy & Achoui, 2010; Peleg & Rahal, 2012), our fourth hypothesis predicted that the association between differentiation of self and social anxiety and differentiation of self would be stronger among Jewish than Arab participants. In addition, we analyzed differences among all groups, broken down by religion and gender.

2. Method 2.1. Participants We used two-stage cluster sampling for the study. After choosing a college in northern Israel, we recruited all first-year college students there. Of 321 students who received the questionnaires, 315 returned them completed, of which 15 were excluded for not meeting our inclusion criteria of being part of an intact family with two biological parents living in the home (whether the participant was currently residing at home or not). The final sample was of 300 Jewish and Arab (Muslim, Christian and Druze) undergraduate students aged 19–56 (mean age 28.7, SD = 8.80). Of these, 175 were males (58.7%) and 123 females (41.3%) (two respondents did not specify gender). In socioeconomic terms, the sample represented a middle-class population. Breakdown by religion was: 127 Jewish (42.3%), 107 Muslim (35.7%), 43 Christian (14.3%) and 23 Druze (7.7%). Of all participants, 89 (29.7%) were single and 195 were married (65.0%), while the rest did not report marital status. With respect to religiosity, 110 were traditional (36.7%), 124 secular (41.3%) and 46 religious (15.3%). The Jewish sample includes 18 Jews born in Russia. Its religious breakdown was 64 secular, 41 traditional, 14 religious and 8 who did not specify their religiosity level. With respect to origin, 53 students reported being Ashkenazi, 39 indicated they were Sephardi and 35 did not mention their origin.

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2.2. Instruments 2.2.1. Background questionnaire The background questionnaire, constructed specifically for the study, included items on ethnicity, age, gender, religion and religiosity, marital status and residence. 2.2.2. Differentiation of self inventory-revised Level of differentiation of self was assessed by the Differentiation of Self Inventory-Revised (DSI-R: Skowron & Friedlander, 1998; Skowron & Schmitt, 2003), which was translated into Hebrew (Peleg, 2002, 2008). The DSI-R is a 46-item self-report inventory that focuses on significant relationships between adults and current relationships with the family of origin. It includes four subscales: emotional reactivity (ER), I-position (IP), emotional cutoff (EC) and fusion with others (FO). Examples of the DSI-R items are: ‘‘People have remarked that I’m overly emotional’’ (ER); ‘‘I am fairly self-accepting’’ (IP); ‘‘I tend to distance myself when people get too close to me’’ (EC); and ‘‘I try to live up to my parents’ expectations’’ (FO). Items are ranked on a six-point Likert-type scale, ranging from 1 (‘‘not at all true for me’’) to 6 (‘‘very true for me’’). The DSI-R subscale scores were calculated by averaging the mean scores of the items in each category. Thus, the DSI-R range was 1–6. Internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha) for the Jewish sample was .86 for the total score, .84 for emotional reactivity, .80 for I-position, .76 for emotional cutoff and .73 for fusion with others. For the Arab sample, Cronbach’s alpha was .84 overall, .87 for emotional reactivity, .81 for I-position, .83 for emotional cutoff and .75 for fusion with others. 2.2.3. Social anxiety We assessed social anxiety using the Social Anxiety Scale-Revised (SAS-R: La Greca & Stone, 1993), translated into Hebrew (Peleg-Popko & Dar, 2001). This 22-item self-report inventory consists of 18 descriptive self-statements about social anxiety, as well as four filler items (e.g., ‘‘I like to play sports’’) which do not contribute to the total score. It includes three subscales: fear of negative evaluation (FNE; sample item: ‘‘I worry that other people don’t like me’’), avoidance and distress in new situations (SAD-N; sample item: ‘‘I’m embarrassed when I’m with people I don’t know’’) and avoidance and distress in general situations (SAD-G; sample item: ‘‘I’m quiet when I’m around people’’). Possible responses fall along a five-point scale, ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always). Item scores were averaged to arrive at the total score. Cronbach’s alpha for the present sample was .91, indicating the questionnaire had good internal consistency. For the Jewish sample, Cronbach’s alpha was .89 overall, .88 for fear of negative evaluation, .89 for avoidance and distress in new situations and .89 for avoidance and

distress in general situations. For the Arab sample, Cronbach’s alpha was .80 overall, .83 for fear of negative evaluation, .78 for avoidance and distress in new situations and .80 for avoidance and distress in general situations. 2.3. Procedure The research was conducted in the first semester of 2012. The study was submitted to the college’s Ethics Committee for approval. Following the receipt of official authorization, all students who attended first-year courses were approached collectively at the end of a lecture. Completion of the questionnaire was voluntary, and the students were told that they could stop their participation at any point. All were assured of anonymity and discretion, both verbally and in writing. While completing the questionnaires, the participants could ask about points that they felt were unclear. 3. Results The main research objective was to assess differences in the levels of social anxiety and differentiation of self between Jewish and Arab college students. Table 1 presents the means, standard deviations and ranges of the study variables by gender and ethnicity (Jewish, Arab). Table 2 presents the same data broken down by religion among the Arab participants (Druze, Muslim, Christian). A Kruskal Wallis test, run to examine differences between religious groups within the Jewish sample, yielded no significant differences between religious, traditional and secular students. Nor were significant differences found between Ashkenazi and Sephardi students, measured by analyses of variance (one-way ANOVAs, by origin). Therefore, the Jewish sample was analyzed as a single group. We tested the first two hypotheses, which assumed differences in social anxiety and differentiation of self levels among the various groups included in the study, through analyses of variance: two-way ANOVAs by ethnicity and gender, and two-way ANOVAs by religion and gender. Tukey post hoc tests were then conducted to examine differences in the levels of differentiation of self (emotional reactivity, I-position, emotional cutoff and fusion with others) and social anxiety (fear of negative evaluation, avoidance and distress in new situations, and avoidance and distress in general situations). F values are presented in Table 3. Multivariate analysis of the differentiation of self items revealed statistically significant gender (Wilk’s Lambda F(4, 290) = 5.01, p < 0.001) and ethnic group (Wilk’s Lambda F(4, 290) = 6.12, p < 0.001) main effects and no interaction between ethnic group and gender (Wilk’s Lambda F(4, 290) = 0.66, p > 0.62). There was a moderate effect size for gender (Cohen’s d = 0.25) and for ethnic

Table 1 Means, Ranges and standard deviations for all research variables. Men n = 175

D-TOT FO ER IP EC SAS-A-TOT SAD-N SAD-G FNE

Women n = 123

Jewish n = 127

Arab n = 173

Total n = 300

R

M

SD

R

M

SD

R

M

SD

R

M

SD

R

M

SD

2.18–5.01 1.75–5.08 1.18–5.73 2.18–6.18 1.08–5.17 1.00–4.00 1.00–4.50 1.00–4.25 1.00–5.43

3.51 3.39 3.02 4.12 2.79 2.10 2.28 2.02 1.99

0.52 0.58 0.91 0.73 0.84 0.61 0.72 0.70 0.74

1.76–4.78 1.42–5.25 1.09–5.73 2.45–6.00 1.00–4.50 1.00–3.67 1.00–4.00 1.00–4.25 1.00–4.43

3.31 3.70 3.43 4.14 2.70 2.03 2.14 1.99 1.98

0.50 0.72 0.88 0.82 0.77 0.62 0.71 0.68 0.69

1.76–5.01 1.42–5.25 1.09–5.73 2.45–6.00 1.08–4.92 1.00–4.07 1.00–4.50 1.00–5.00 1.00–4.43

3.04 3.50 3.27 4.24 2.59 2.04 2.22 1.94 1.95

0.53 0.74 1.00 0.79 0.79 0.66 0.75 0.76 0.75

2.11–4.89 2.00–5.25 1.18–5.27 2.18–6.18 1.00–5.17 1.00–3.93 1.00–4.5 1.00–3.75 1.00–5.43

3.45 3.63 3.26 4.05 2.88 2.11 2.24 2.08 2.03

0.51 0.63 0.85 0.75 0.80 0.59 0.72 0.67 0.69

1.76–5.01 1.42–5.25 1.09–5.73 2.18–6.18 1.00–5.17 1.00–4.07 1.00–4.50 1.00–5.00 1.00–5.43

3.43 3.58 3.26 4.13 2.76 2.06 2.23 2.02 1.99

0.52 0.68 0.92 0.77 0.81 0.62 0.73 0.71 0.72

(N = 300). Note: D-TOT = total differentiation of self inventory score; FO = fusion with others; ER = emotional reactivity; IP = I-position; EC = emotional cutoff; SAS-A-TOT = total Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescent inventory score; SAD-N = Social Avoidance and Distress-New; SAD-G = Social Avoidance and Distress-General; FNE = Fear of Negative Evaluation.

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Table 2 Means, ranges and standard deviations for all variables by religion p value from the Kruskal wallis test. Druze n = 23

D-TOT FO ER IP EC SAS-A-TOT SAD-N SAD-G FNE

Muslim n = 107

Christian n = 43

p

R

M

SD

R

M

SD

R

M

SD

2.11–4.33 2.17–5.25 1.18–5.00 2.64–5.64 1.00–4.25 1.25–3.93 1.00–4.50 1.00–3.00 1.14–4.29

3.46 3.69 3.16 4.23 2.76 1.98 2.16 1.77 2.08

0.58 0.72 1.01 0.81 0.76 0.62 0.82 0.52 0.74

2.18–4.89 2.00–5.08 1.36–5.27 2.45–6.18 1.08–5.17 1.00–3.63 1.00–4.33 1.00–3.75 1.00–5.43

3.48 3.67 3.30 3.95 3.00 5.12 2.28 2.13 2.06

0.52 0.61 0.84 0.76 0.77 0.59 0.69 0.68 0.71

2.39–4.34 2.25–4.33 1.45–4.64 2.18–5.36 1.22–4.58 1.10–3.25 1.00–3.50 1.00–3.75 1.00–3.29

3.39 3.52 3.21 4.18 2.66 2.08 2.17 2.11 1.97

0.45 0.59 0.77 0.65 0.83 0.56 0.72 0.68 0.62

0.84 0.56 0.95 0.06 0.05a 0.26 0.55 0.05b 0.76

(N = 173). Note: D-TOT = total differentiation of self inventory score; FO = fusion with others; ER = emotional reactivity; IP = I-position; EC = emotional cutoff; SAS-A-TOT = total Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescent inventory score; SAD-N = Social Avoidance and Distress-New; SAD-G = Social Avoidance and Distress-General; FNE = Fear of Negative Evaluation. a Muslims statistically significantly greater than Christians (p < 0.02). b Muslims statistically significantly greater than Druze (p < 0.02).

Table 3 Gender and religion differences in differentiation of self inventory score and Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescent inventory score Levels, Values of F for The Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). By gender D-TOT FO ER IP EC SAS-A-TOT SAD-N SAD-G FNE

F(1, F(1, F(1, F(1, F(1, F(1, F(1, F(1, F(1,

**

= 9.05 = 14.38*** *** 293) = 13.75 293) = 0.04 293) = 0.23 293) = 0.53 293) = 2.61 293) = 0.03 293) = 0.01 293) 293)

By ethnic group

Interaction gender* ethnic

By gender

By religion

Interaction gender* religion

F(1, F(1, F(1, F(1, F(1, F(1, F(1, F(1, F(1,

F(1, F(1, F(1, F(1, F(1, F(1, F(1, F(1, F(1,

F(1, F(1, F(1, F(1, F(1, F(1, F(1, F(1, F(1,

F(3, F(3, F(3, F(3, F(3, F(3, F(3, F(3, F(3,

F(3, F(3, F(3, F(3, F(3, F(3, F(3, F(3, F(3,

= 0.41 = 2.45 293) = 0.14 * 293) = 4.84 ** 293) = 8.40 293) = 1.54 293) = 0.15 293) = 3.41 293) = 1.02 293) 293)

= 1.29 = 0.17 293) = 0.49 293) = 0.09 293) = 2.28 293) = 0.31 293) = 0.00 293) = 1.43 293) = 0.11 293) 293)

= 0.89 = 5.91* * 289) = 5.22 289) = 0.15 289) = 0.61 289) = 0.80 289) = 2.62 289) = 0.15 289) = 0.05 289) 289)

= 0.15 = 1.00 289) = 0.11 ** 289) = 3.83 ** 289) = 4.06 289) = 1.11 289) = 0.43 * 289) = 2.82 = 0.55 289) 289) 289)

= 2.10 = 1.13 289) = 1.59 289) = 1.61 289) = 0.73 289) = 0.31 289) = 0.74 289) = 0.44 289) = 0.08 289) 289)

Note: D-TOT = total differentiation of self inventory score; FO = fusion with others; ER = emotional reactivity; IP = I-position; EC = emotional cutoff; SAS-A-TOT = total Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescent inventory score; SAD-N = Social Avoidance and Distress-New; SAD-G = Social Avoidance and Distress-General; FNE = Fear of Negative Evaluation. * Significance level – p < 0.05. ** Significance level – p < 0.01. *** Significance level – p < 0.001.

group (Cohen’s d = 0.28). When religious group was used in place of ethnicity, multivariate analysis revealed only a main effect of religion (Wilk’s Lambda F(12, 757) = 3.09, p > 0.001); there was no gender effect (Wilk’s Lambda F(4, 286) = 1.95, p > 0.10) or interaction between gender and religious group (Wilk’s Lambda F(12, 756) = 1.15, p > 0.31). There was a small (0.1) to medium (0.3) effect size for religion (Cohen’s d = 0.20). Multivariate analysis of the social anxiety items revealed no gender (Wilk’s Lambda F(3, 291) = 1.70, p > 0.17) or ethnic group (Wilk’s Lambda F(3, 291) = 1.50, p > 0.21) main effects nor an interaction between the two (Wilk’s Lambda F(3, 291) = 0.80, p > 0.50). When using religious group in the model instead of ethnic group, similar results were found, with no gender (Wilk’s Lambda F(3, 287) = 1.38, p > 0.25) or religious (Wilk’s Lambda F(9, 699) = 1.36, p > 0.20) main effects nor an interaction between the two (Wilk’s Lambda F(9, 699) = 0.61, p > 0.79). As shown in Table 3, significant gender differences were found. Emotional reactivity and fusion with others were higher for females than for males. Men and women did not differ in their levels of I-position, emotional cutoff or social anxiety. In terms of religion, analyses of variance yielded significant differences in the levels of I-position and emotional cutoff. Tukey post hoc analyses indicated that Jewish participants reported higher levels of I-position (p < .01) and lower levels of emotional cutoff (p < .001) than their Muslim counterparts. The interaction effect did not reach significance. Furthermore, no differences were found in social anxiety levels between Jewish and Arab participants, or between religions.

In order to test the third hypothesis regarding the relationship between differentiation of self and social anxiety, Pearson correlations were conducted. Correlations for the total sample are presented in Table 4. The p values in the table were adjusted for multiple correlations (using a Bonferroni correction). As shown in the table, positive associations were found between the three scales of social anxiety (fear of negative evaluation, avoidance and distress in new situations, and avoidance and distress in general situations) and emotional reactivity, emotional cutoff and fusion with others, on the other hand, while negative associations were found between the three scales of social anxiety and I-position. All point to a negative relationship between social anxiety and differentiation of self, supporting the hypothesis. The fourth hypothesis predicted that the association between social anxiety and differentiation of self would be stronger among Jewish than Arab students. In order to examine such differences, Pearson correlations were run separately for each ethnicity and each religion. Table 5 presents the correlations between the total scores of differentiation of self and social anxiety, while Pearson correlations examining the relationships between the dimensions of the Differentiation of Self Inventory and the Social Anxiety Scale by religion and ethnic group are presented in Table 6. Again, the p values in the tables were adjusted for multiple correlations (using a Bonferroni correction). The analyses in Table 5 yielded positive correlations between social anxiety and differentiation of self among Jews and Arabs alike, but these were not statistically significantly different (Table 5). When broken down by religion, the association between

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Table 4 Pearson correlation to examine the relationships between the dimensions of differentiation of self inventory and the Social Anxiety Scale.

FO ER IP EC

FNE

SAD-N

SAD-G

**

**

**

**

**

**

0.281 0.472 ** 0.389 ** 0.450

0.241 0.419 ** 0.364 ** 0.392

0.181 0.310 0.291 ** 0.489 **

(N = 300). Note: FO = fusion with others; ER = emotional reactivity; IP = I-position; EC = emotional cutoff; SAD-N = Social Avoidance and Distress-New; SAD-G = Social Avoidance and Distress-General; FNE = Fear of Negative Evaluation. All the p values are <0.004, (using a Bonferroni correction). ** Significance level – p < 0.01.

Table 5 Pearson correlation to examine the relationships between the dimensions of differentiation of self-inventory and the Social Anxiety Scale by Religion.

Jewish n = 127 Arab n = 173 Muslim n = 107 Christian n = 43 Druze n = 23

D-TOT

SAS-A-TOT

P1

P2

0.341* 0.339* 0.252* 0.506* 0.475*

– 0.98 0.47 0.27 0.50

– – – 0.11 0.29

(N = 300). Note: D-TOT = total differentiation of self inventory score; SAS-A-TOT = total Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescent inventory score. P is the comparison to the Jewish Pearson correlation coefficient. All the p values are <0.004, (using a Bonferroni correction). * Significance level – p < 0.05.

social anxiety and differentiation of self was found to be lowest among Muslim participants, but these too were not statistically significantly different between religious groups. The examination of the correlations between social anxiety and all subscales of differentiation of self yielded positive correlations between all subscales of social anxiety, on the one hand, and emotional reactivity, emotional cutoff and fusion with others, on the other hand. Negative correlations emerged between I-position and all subscales of social anxiety. Among Christians, no significant correlations were found between fusion with others and social anxiety (Table 6). Finally, Z tests revealed no significant differences between Arab and Jewish participants in the magnitude of the association between differentiation of self and social anxiety, when grouped by ethnicity (Z = 0.02, n.s.). Moreover, no significant differences were found between Jewish participants, on the one hand, and Muslim (Z = 0.57, n.s.), Druze (Z = 1.11, n.s.) or Christian participants (Z = 0.73, n.s.), on the other hand. Nor did the analyses yield significant differences between Christian and Muslim participants (Z = 1.61, n.s), between Muslim and Druze participants (Z = 1.06, n.s.), or between Druze and Christian participants (Z = 0.15, n.s.).

4. Discussion The aim of the present study was to examine differences in levels of social anxiety and differentiation of self among college students in two ethnic groups living in Israel: Arabs (Muslims, Christians and Druze) and Jews. On the whole, significant differences were found between Jewish and Arab college students, as well as between females and males, in some differentiation of self dimensions. In addition, the analyses yielded negative correlations between social anxiety and differentiation of self among participants from the two cultures. Jewish students reported a greater ability to take I-positions and lower levels of emotional cutoff than Muslim participants, partially supporting the first hypothesis. This diverges from existing findings that participants from collectivist cultures reported higher levels of I-position (e.g., Biadessa-Ashkar & Peleg, 2013; Peleg et al., 2006). It supports those few studies that found higher levels of Iposition among participants from individualist cultures, such as research comparing Korean students with American students of European origin, which linked the ability to take I-positions to higher levels of self-esteem and a decline in symptoms of depression (Chung & Gale, 2006). A possible explanation for the current finding rests on arguments put forward by Triandis and Gelfand (1998) and by Chiou (2001), whereby persons with collectivist attitudes are more likely to acquiesce to hierarchy and authority, sometimes at the expense of consolidating their identity, and are liable to change their opinions; in contrast, persons belonging to individualist and democratic societies tend to express their opinions and emotions more openly. These inconsistent findings regarding I-position merit further investigation. As mentioned above, Muslim participants reported higher levels of emotional cutoff than their Jewish counterparts. This finding corroborates previous research in which higher levels of emotional cutoff were reported among participants from collectivist societies (Tuason & Friedlander, 2000), in particular among Israeli–Arabs (Peleg & Rahal, 2012). A possible explanation is that it is more difficult to express emotions publicly or in front of significant others in Arab societies because of cultural and familial norms. With respect to gender differences, the findings point to higher levels of emotional reactivity among women than among men. These findings converge with many previous studies (Kosek, 1998; Peleg, 2008; Skowron & Dendy, 2004; Skowron & Friedlander, 1998; Skowron & Schmitt, 2003). In contrast to the revealed differences with respect to differentiation of self, none were found between ethnic and religious groups in levels of social anxiety (fear of negative evaluation, avoidance and distress in new situations, and avoidance and distress in general situations), refuting the second hypothesis. This finding is both interesting and surprising, since high levels of most types of anxiety have been reported among participants from

Table 6 Pearson correlation to examine the relationships between the dimensions of differentiation of self inventory and the Social Anxiety Scale by Religion. Jewish n = 127 FNE FO ER IP EC

**

0.265 ** 0.524 ** 0.438 ** 0.353

SAD-N **

0.256 ** 0.440 ** 0.308 ** 0.344

Muslim n = 107 SAD-G 0.134 ** 0.332 ** 0.222 ** 0.433

FNE **

0.317 ** 0.393 ** 0.323 ** 0.432

Christian n = 43

SAD-N

SAD-G

*

*

0.216 ** 0.289 ** 0.423 ** 0.345

0.213 * 0.222 ** 0.365 ** 0.466

Druze n = 23

FNE

SAD-N

SAD-G

FNE

SAD-N

0.238 ** 0.633 * 0.368 ** 0.633

0.172 ** 0.590 ** 0.424 ** 0.508

0.122 * 0.356 0.207 ** 0.694

0.230 * 0.459 0.367 ** 0.724

0.336 ** 0.532 0.325 ** 0.657

Arab n = 173 SAD-G *

0.488 ** 0.533 * 0.424 ** 0.623

FNE **

0.290 ** 0.427 ** 0.342 ** 0.524

SAD-N **

0.229 ** 0.402 ** 0.412 ** 0.436

SAD-G **

0.211 0.294 ** 0.336 ** 0.524 **

(N = 300). Note: FO = fusion with others; ER = emotional reactivity; IP = I-position; EC = emotional cutoff; SAD-N = Social Avoidance and Distress-New; SAD-G = Social Avoidance and Distress-General; FNE = Fear of Negative Evaluation. All the p values are <0.004, (using a Bonferroni correction). * p < 0.05. ** p < 0.01.

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collectivist societies (e.g., test anxiety, Peleg-Popko et al., 2003; trait anxiety, Tuason & Friedlander, 2000). It is possible that social anxiety is lower in collectivist societies because of the strong social and emotional support the individual receives from family and community, which provides protection, security, and feelings of belonging during crises. These patterns may lower the chances of developing social anxiety in Arab society (Al-Krenawi & Graham, 2005; Barakat, 1993). With respect to gender, no differences were found between women and men in their levels of social anxiety, in contrast to previous results pointing to higher levels of anxiety among women (Vriends, Becker, Meyer, & Margraf, 2011) – for instance, trait anxiety (Mellanby & Zimdars, 2011), test anxiety (Zaheri, Shahoei, & Zaheri, 2012) and separation anxiety (Scaini, Ogliari, Eley, Zavos, & Battaglia, 2012). The current finding may stem from changing gender expectations in modern society. As expected, negative correlations were found between I-position and the three social anxiety subscales, while positive correlations were found between levels of emotional reactivity, emotional cutoff and fusion with others, on the one hand, and levels of social anxiety, on the other, corroborating the third hypothesis. These findings are consistent with those of previous studies, which showed negative correlations between differentiation of self and types of anxiety, such as trait anxiety (Skowron & Friedlander, 1998), separation anxiety (Peleg & Yitzhak, 2010) and social anxiety (Peleg, 2002, 2005; Peleg et al., 2006). A possible reason for this finding is that individuals who are not well differentiated and are dependent on significant others may tend to experience heightened stress and pressure in challenging social situations, to which they react with increased emotional intensity. These are all liable to raise anxiety levels and produce a series of physiological and emotional symptoms (Kerr & Bowen, 1988). In other words, differentiation of self, which expresses the ability to create autonomy and intimacy with significant others, seems to be generalized to broader social relationships. It is interesting to note that, contrary to the fourth hypothesis, no cultural differences were found in the magnitude of the correlation between social anxiety and differentiation of self. This finding supports that of a recent study carried out in Israel (Peleg & Rahal, 2012), which showed no significant differences between Arab and Jewish college students in the strength of correlation between differentiation of self and physiological symptoms. Furthermore, it should be noted that stronger correlations between social anxiety and differentiation of self were found among Christian and Druze participants, similar to those among Jewish counterparts, in contrast to weaker correlations found among Muslim participants. This may be due to Christian Arabs and Druze living in urban areas, where they are more likely to be exposed to the Western lifestyle than Muslims, who for the most part reside in rural areas that are more isolated and conservative (Al-Haj, 1991). Another possible explanation is that Druze and Christians are minority groups within a minority group, causing them to constantly attempt to integrate as much as possible into the majority society through adoption of Western customs. It is likely that such integration provides them with security stemming from the support they receive from the majority group, allowing them to feel less threatened. 4.1. Limitations, contributions of the research, and recommendations for future research Several limitations of the present research deserve mention. First, the sample was limited to college students, most of whom live in the north of Israel, so that findings cannot be generalized to all populations in Israel. Future research should sample several age groups and population types throughout the country. Second,

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fewer men than women participated in the study. Future research should make every effort to include a larger number of males and participants from various cultural groups. Notwithstanding these limitations, the present study makes several contributions to the field. On the theoretical level, the findings reinforce the universality of Bowen’s Theory regarding differentiation of self and its relation to anxiety. The current study found social anxiety to be associated with differentiation of self among all ethnic and religious groups included. Furthermore, the results shed light on familial and societal factors that contribute to social anxiety, suggesting that the ability to balance intimacy and autonomy in the family, as well to hold direct dialogues between family members (I-position), enables offspring to feel less anxious and more confident in social interactions. In conclusion, the findings of the present research suggest that differentiation of self offers a basis for security in stressful and anxiety-provoking situations, providing the individual with effective coping strategies. Well-developed differentiation of self appears to help regulate emotions and lower social anxiety levels regardless of ethnicity, religion or gender. Acknowledgments The authors wish to thank Helene Hogri for her valuable help in editing this paper and Paula Herer for her assistance in analyzing the data. References Abu Abas, K. (2007). Arab education in Israel: Dilemmas of a national minority. Jerusalem: Florsheimer Institute (Hebrew). Al-Haj, M. (1991). Education and social change among the Arabs in Israel. Tel Aviv: The International Center for Peace in the Middle East. Al-Krenawi, A., & Graham, J. R. (2005). Mental health practice for the Muslim Arab population in Israel. In C. L. Rabin (Ed.), Understanding gender and culture in the helping process (pp. 68–83). New York: Thomson Brooks/Cole. American Psychiatric Association (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: APA. Barakat, H. (1993). The Arab world, society, culture and state. Berkeley: University of California Press. Bartle-Haring, S., & Gavazzi, S. (1996). Multiple views on family differentiation: Adolescent, maternal, and paternal perspectives. Family Process, 35, 457–472. Biadessa-Ashkar, A., & Peleg, O. (2013). The relationship between differentiation of self and satisfaction with life amongst Israeli women: A cross cultural perspective. Health, 5, 1467–1477. Bowen, M. (1978). Family therapy in clinical practice. New York: Aronson. Central Bureau of Statistics. (2012). Population and demography. http:// www.cbs.gov.il/reader/?MIval=cw_usr_view_SHTML&ID=629. Chiou, J. (2001). Horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism among college students in the US, Taiwan and Argentina. Journal of Social Psychology, 14, 667–678. Chung, H., & Gale, J. (2006). Comparing self-differentiation and psychological wellbeing between Korean and European American students. Contemporary Family Therapy, 28, 367–381. Chung, H., & Gale, J. (2009). Family functioning and self-differentiation: A crosscultural examination. Contemporary Family Therapy, 31, 20–33. Dwairy, M. (1997). A biopsychosocial model of metaphor therapy with holistic cultures. Clinical Psychology Review, 17, 719–732. Dwairy, M. (2002). Foundations of psychosocial dynamic personality theory of collective people. Clinical Psychology Review, 22, 343–360. Dwairy, M. (2009). Culture analysis and metaphor therapy with Arab-Muslim clients. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 65, 199–209. Dwairy, M., & Achoui, M. (2010). Adolescent-family connectedness: A first crosscultural research on parenting, culture, and psychological adjustment of children. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 19, 16–22. Elieson, M. V., & Rubin, L. J. (2001). Differentiation of self and major depressive disorders: A test of Bowen theory among clinical, traditional, and internet groups. Family Therapy, 29, 125–142. Higa, C. K., Fernandez, S. N., Nakamura, B. J., Chorpita, B. F., & Daleiden, E. L. (2006). Parental assessment of childhood social phobia: Psychometric properties of the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory for Children–Parent Report. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 35, 590–597. Hornsey, M. J., Jetten, J., McAuliffe, B., & Hogg, M. A. (2006). The impact of individualist and collectivist group norms on evaluations of dissenting group members. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 42, 57–68. ICBS (2011). Statistical abstract of 2010. Jerusalem: Israel Central Bureau of Statistics.

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