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Rethinking marital enmeshment: distinguishing intrusiveness from closeness-caregiving among French couples

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2020

L Fanjoux-Cohen ,
A Mouly-Bandini ,
PD Werner  and
R-J Green
L Fanjoux-Cohen
Affiliation:
32 Boulevard Rodocunachi, 13008
A Mouly-Bandini
Affiliation:
MCU-PH, Service Pr Monties, Hôpital La Timone, Marseille, France
PD Werner*
Affiliation:
California School of Professional Psychology, 1005 Atlantic Avenue, Alameda, California94501, USA
R-J Green*
Affiliation:
California School of Professional Psychology, 1005 Atlantic Avenue, Alameda, California94501, USA
*
*Correspondence and reprints.
*Correspondence and reprints.
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Summary

Authors recently have suggested that family enrneshment is not synonymous with high levels of closeness or cohesion. A model proposed by Green and Werner clarifies the cohesion-enmeshment domain by distinguishing between closeness-caregiving and intrusiveness as separate relationship processes. This paper examines the cross-cultural applicability of this perspective through a study of 61 married couples in France. The French version of the California Inventory for Family Assessment (CIFA), a self-report measure designed to assess clinically relevant marital dimensions, was employed. In general, spouses' reports of their marital process demonstrated high internal consistency reliabilities. Factor analysis showed meaningful factor structures distinguishing closeness-caregiving and intrusiveness, as predicted, as well as openness of communication. Significant correlations were obtained between CIFA scales and scores on the Marital Adjustment Test. These results are similar for French and American couples. Research implications for studying relationships among French-speaking couples are underlined.

Keywords

family assessmentself-report questionnairefamily structure
Type
Original article
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 13 , Issue 1 , 1998 , pp. 46 - 51
Copyright
Copyright © Elsevier, Paris 1998

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