A Bowen Family Systems perspective on first-year students' coping styles, adjustment to college, and alcohol use

Bowen family systems theory offers a theoretical framework for understanding how emerging adults engage in the process of differentiation from their families of origin. This study used a Bowen family systems perspective to investigate traditional-age first-year students' adjustment to college. The relationships between family of origin, differentiation of self, coping style, and college adjustment were analyzed using cross-sectional methodology with a series of multiple regression equations. The results of this study provide partial support for Bowen's theory that families' balances of system and individual needs, as well as individuals' differentiation are related to more effective intrapersonal and interpersonal functioning at the individual level. Implications for college administrators are discussed.