The Relation between Family Differentiation Levels in Families with Adolescents and the Severity of Presenting Problems

7This study examines distance regulation styles through use of the differentiation construct. Differentiation is defined as the family system's tolerance for individuality and its tolerance for intimacy. 7he usefulness of examining levels offamily differentiation (high, moderate, low) as predictors of presenting problems in a clinical sample of adolescents and their families is explored. Findings indicate thatfamily differentiation levels serve as sign`ifcantpredictors of allpresenting problem categories utilized in this study.