Marginalized family members feel different from and are often disapproved of or excluded by multiple family members. These feelings arise from interactions that create relational distance. Although being marginalized from one’s family typically is a chronically stressful process, the ways in which marginalization is accomplished likely varies across individuals, families, and/or time. Guided by social identification and confirmation theories, we sought to identify specific types of marginalized family members based on three dimensions of marginalization: difference, disapproval, and exclusion. Cluster analysis of survey reports (N = 315) revealed that marginalized family members can be grouped into three types: dissenting, questioning, and diverging. Content analysis of open-ended survey responses was used to name and further distinguish the types of marginalized family members. The types vary in perceived levels of family confirmation, family identification, and self-esteem. Theoretical implications for elaborating aspects of SIT and confirmation theory and understanding family distancing are discussed along with avenues for future research.

被边缘化的家庭成员感觉与多个家庭成员有所不同，并且经常遭到他们的反对或排斥。这些感觉来自产生关系距离的相互作用。尽管被边缘化的家庭通常是一个长期的压力过程，但实现边缘化的方式可能会因个人，家庭和/或时间而异。在社会认同和确认理论的指导下，我们力求根据边缘化的三个维度来识别特定类型的边缘化家庭成员：差异，不赞成和排斥。调查报告的聚类分析（N= 315）表明边缘化家庭成员可以分为三种类型：异议，质疑和分歧。不限成员名额调查答复的内容分析被用来命名和进一步区分边缘化家庭成员的类型。类型在家庭确认，家庭认同和自尊的感知水平上有所不同。讨论了详细阐述SIT和确认理论以及理解家庭距离的理论意义，以及未来研究的途径。