Interparental interactions have an important influence on child well-being and development. Yet prior theory and research have primarily focused on interparental conflict as contributing to child maladjustment, which leaves out the critical question of how interparental positive interactions—such as expressed gratitude, capitalization, and shared laughter—may benefit child growth and development. In this article, we integrate theory and research in family, relationship, and affective science to propose a new framework for understanding how the heretofore underexamined positive interparental interactions influence children: interparental positivity spillover theory (IPST). IPST proposes that, distinct from the influence of conflict, interparental positive interactions spill over into children’s experiences in the form of their (a) experience of positive emotions, (b) beneficially altered perceptions of their parents, and (c) emulation of their parents’ positive interpersonal behaviors. This spillover is theorized to promote beneficial cognitive, behavioral, social, and physiological outcomes in children in the short term (i.e., immediately after a specific episode of interparental positivity, or on a given day) as well as cumulatively across time. As a framework, IPST generates a host of novel and testable predictions to guide future research, all of which have important implications for the mental health, well-being, and positive development of children and families.

中文翻译：

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父母间积极溢出理论：父母积极的关系互动如何影响孩子


父母之间的互动对孩子的健康和发展有着重要的影响。然而，先前的理论和研究主要集中在父母间的冲突会导致儿童适应不良，这忽略了父母间的积极互动（例如表达感激、资本化和分享笑声）如何有益于儿童的成长和发展这一关键问题。在本文中，我们整合了家庭、关系和情感科学的理论和研究，提出了一个新的框架来理解迄今为止未被充分审视的积极的父母间互动如何影响儿童：父母间积极性溢出理论（IPST）。 IPST提出，与冲突的影响不同，父母间的积极互动会以以下形式渗透到儿童的经历中：（a）积极情绪的体验，（b）有益地改变父母的看法，以及（c）模仿父母' 积极的人际行为。从理论上讲，这种溢出效应可以在短期内（即，在父母间积极性的特定事件之后或在某一天）以及跨时间的累积过程中促进儿童的有益认知、行为、社交和生理结果。作为一个框架，IPST 产生了大量新颖且可测试的预测来指导未来的研究，所有这些都对儿童和家庭的心理健康、福祉和积极发展具有重要影响。