Psychometric integrity of a measure of dysfunctional separation-individuation in young adolescents

Abstract

Separation-individuation has been consistently identified as a critical process in adolescent development. Dysfunction in the separation-individuation process has previously been linked to pathology among college students and adults. The purpose of this study was to validate the psychometric integrity of the Dysfunctional Separation-Individuation Scale in a population of young adolescents. A one factor structure of the 19-item scale was obtained. The scale correlated highly in the expected directions with other measures of separation-individuation, as well as with measures of depression and positive adaptation.