Stephenson Jane M, Turkelson Angela, Fingerman Karen L, Birditt Kira S
Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA.
Fam Process. 2025 Mar;64(1):e13094. doi: 10.1111/famp.13094.
Parent-child relationship quality has critical implications for parental emotional well-being across the lifespan. The present study assessed how relationship quality is related to daily encounters between parents and children, how those encounters are linked with parents' mood, and how these associations vary by age. Participants (N = 129, ages 33-91) reported baseline relationship quality with a total of 337 children (ages 1-69). In ecological momentary assessments, participants reported encounters with their children and their mood every 3 h for 4 days (N = 2220). Analyses revealed that relationship quality was not associated with whether parents had contact with their children. More negative relationship quality was positively associated with unpleasant encounters and negatively associated with pleasant encounters with children. Pleasant encounters with a child were associated with a more positive mood regardless of relationship quality. Unpleasant encounters were associated with a more negative mood, particularly when parents had a more negative relationship with their children. These associations varied significantly by age. Parents were more likely to have contact with more irritating adolescent children than less irritating adolescents and were less likely to have unpleasant encounters with children in emerging adulthood compared to childhood. Older parents' moods were not as strongly associated with unpleasant encounters, though the likelihood of experiencing unpleasant encounters was more closely tied to relationship quality for older parents than younger parents. These findings have important implications for understanding the relationship between family conflict and emotional well-being across the life course.
亲子关系质量对父母一生的情绪幸福感有着至关重要的影响。本研究评估了关系质量如何与父母和孩子之间的日常接触相关，这些接触如何与父母的情绪相联系，以及这些关联如何随年龄而变化。参与者（N = 129，年龄在33 - 91岁之间）报告了与总共337名儿童（年龄在1 - 69岁之间）的基线关系质量。在生态瞬时评估中，参与者在4天内每3小时报告一次与孩子的接触情况以及他们的情绪（N = 2220）。分析表明，关系质量与父母是否与孩子有接触无关。关系质量越消极，与孩子不愉快的接触就呈正相关，与愉快的接触呈负相关。无论关系质量如何，与孩子愉快的接触都与更积极的情绪相关。不愉快的接触与更消极的情绪相关，特别是当父母与孩子的关系更消极时。这些关联在不同年龄组中差异显著。与较不让人恼火的青少年相比，父母更有可能与更让人恼火的青少年有接触，并且与童年时期相比，在成年早期与孩子发生不愉快接触的可能性更小。年长父母的情绪与不愉快接触的关联不那么强烈，不过对于年长父母来说，经历不愉快接触的可能性比年轻父母更紧密地与关系质量相关。这些发现对于理解家庭冲突与一生情绪幸福感之间的关系具有重要意义。
