Bowen's Intergenerational Transmission Process in the Malay Population

Abstract

This paper will address Bowen's Intergenerational Transmission process which states that individual and family functions is similar across generations as each family is the product of the many families in the generations that preceded it. Children always see their parents as role models in their lives. How their parents cope with stress, anxiety, make decision and their reactions towards problems will be observed by their children. As observers, children learn and implement what they learn as children to their own family when they are married and have children of their own. This is what Bowen meant by intergenerational transmission process. However, Bowen proposes that the transmission occurs at an emotional level from one generation to the next, emphasizing the fact that the past influences the present.  The study of Bowen Family System Theory (BFST) has been done in the west but has not been investigated yet in Malaysia. This paper will describe a study that tests the Bowen's theory on the Malay population in Malaysia. Three hundred and fifty Malay families were approached to complete a Differentiation of Self (DSI) to measure the possibility of intergenerational process between parents and their children. The finding shows that intergenerational effect was found in the Malay population. The implications of the finding in the society are discussed.