Answer:
Intimacy is a term that, despite its widespread use, remains relatively ambiguous” (Hirschberger, Florian, & Mikulincer, 2003, p. 676). This sentence underlines the difficulty to define and to measure family intimacy. Indeed, measuring family intimacy involves taking into account both several dimensions of the construct and different levels of analysis. In the literature, several definitions of intimacy have been provided (Erikson, 1963; Reis & Shaver, 1988). Often intimacy is defined using terms as cohesion, closeness, support, trust, self-disclosure, responsiveness, presence, interdependence, and positivity (Foley & Duck, 2006). Beside the subdimensions of the construct, intimacy could be also conceptualized referring to individual, interactional, relational, or family level. Regarding the individual level, it is conceptualized as personal willingness to be in a supportive and affective relationship
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