Etkin Rebecca G, Koss Kalsea J, Cummings E Mark, Davies Patrick T
J Genet Psychol. 2014 Jan-Apr;175(1-2):118-33. doi: 10.1080/00221325.2013.813437.
Triangulation is a family-wide process in which children are inappropriately involved in interparental conflict, placing them at heightened risk for adjustment problems. A common form of triangulation occurs by parents pressuring their children to take sides, which may result in feelings of being torn between parents. Externalizing behaviors in particular may develop as adolescents feel caught in the middle of conflict and forced to choose a side. However, the nature of the triadic process of triangulation may be impacted by dyadic-level relationships within the family. The authors thus explored how positive parenting processes may alter the relations between triangulation and adolescent externalizing problems. Mothers, fathers, and adolescents (n = 301 families) provided assessments of adolescent externalizing problems, triangulation, and maternal and paternal warmth. Analyses revealed a 3-way interaction among triangulation and maternal and paternal warmth predicting adolescent externalizing problems; child gender also moderated these relations. Among highly triangulated youth, boys displayed increased externalizing problems when both parents exhibited low or high warmth, whereas girls showed increased behavior problems in the context of low maternal but high paternal warmth. These findings indicate the importance of examining the broader family context and gender when considering the impact of triangulation during adolescence.
三角关系是一个涉及整个家庭的过程，在此过程中，孩子被不适当地卷入父母间的冲突，这使他们出现适应问题的风险增加。三角关系的一种常见形式是父母迫使孩子站队，这可能导致孩子在父母之间左右为难。特别是当青少年感到陷入冲突之中并被迫选择一方时，外化行为可能会出现。然而，三角关系的三元过程的性质可能会受到家庭中二元关系的影响。因此，作者探讨了积极的养育过程如何改变三角关系与青少年外化问题之间的关系。母亲、父亲和青少年（共301个家庭）对青少年的外化问题、三角关系以及母亲和父亲的温情程度进行了评估。分析揭示了三角关系与母亲和父亲的温情程度之间存在三方交互作用，可预测青少年的外化问题；孩子的性别也调节了这些关系。在三角关系程度高的青少年中，当父母双方都表现出低温情或高温情时，男孩的外化问题会增加，而在母亲温情程度低但父亲温情程度高的情况下，女孩会出现更多行为问题。这些发现表明，在考虑三角关系对青少年的影响时，审视更广泛的家庭背景和性别具有重要意义。
