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Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences
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Fusion or Familialism: A Construct Problem in Studies of Mexican American Adolescents

Judith C. Baer

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Jonathan D. Prince

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Judith Velez

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

This study was an investigation of intergenerational relationships related to the individuation process as reported by Mexican (N = 2,388) and European American (N = 2,907) adolescents. The primary aim was to examine the construct within theories of adolescent development that emotional separation in parent-adolescent relationships is an inherent aspect of the developmental process that occurs across the two ethnic groups. The authors conducted confirmatory factor analyses on a subscale INFUS of an instrument developed to measure family process, the Personal Authority in the Family System Questionnaire (PAFS-Q) developed by Bray, Williamson, and Malone. In sum, findings indicate (a) the need for better measurement testing, (2) the need to revisit the concept of autonomy from the family as a universal task during adolescent development, and (3) caution in the clinical use of concepts such as fusion and independence when delivering mental health services to Mexican adolescents and their families.

Key Words: adolescence • emotional separation • cross-cultural application • measurement equivalence

Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, Vol. 26, No. 3, 263-273 (2004)
DOI: 10.1177/0739986304267703
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