Sharing in the Family System: Contributions of Parental Emotional Expressiveness and Children’s Physiological Regulation

Objective: According to the family systems theory, triangulation is defined as reflecting and conveying the tension between two individuals to a third individual to reduce the existing tension, stress, and anxiety. This study was conducted to adapt the “Triangular Relationship Inventory” to Turkish and to assess psychometric properties. Method: The sample of the study included 337 individuals (234 women and 103 men) aged between 18 and 25 years. The structure validity of the inventory was evaluated with the confirmatory factor analysis and reliability was evaluated with Chronbach's alpha internal consistency coefficient, test–retest method, and item analyses. Results: The result showed that the Turkish form of the Triangular Relationship Inventory showed similar psychometric properties to the original inventory. The structure which consists of the balanced, mediator, cross-generational coalition, and scapegoat subdimensions of 24 items displayed acceptable goodness-of-fit values in the Turkish sample with the 0.91 Cronbach's alpha coefficient while the reliability values of the subdimensions changed between 0.86 and 0.91. Considering the convergent validity of the inventory, there was a negative correlation between the triangular relationship and satisfaction with life and the differentiation of self, and a significant positive correlation with depression, anxiety, and stress. Conclusion: The psychometric properties revealed in this study show that the Turkish form of the Triangular Relationship Inventory is a valid and reliable measurement tool that can be used to measure the triangulation levels and roles of the individuals, who are in the Turkish sample and between the ages of 18 and 25 years, within the family system.

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Family Environment and Child-To-Parent Violence: The Role of Emotional Insecurity

Journal of Interpersonal Violence ◽

10.1177/08862605211006370 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 088626052110063

Author(s):

Miriam Junco-Guerrero ◽

Ana Ruiz-Fernández ◽

David Cantón-Cortés

Keyword(s):

High School Students ◽

Family Environment ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Irrational Beliefs ◽

Family System ◽

Equation Modeling ◽

School Students ◽

Mothers And Fathers ◽

The Family ◽

Emotional Insecurity

Child-to-parent violence (CPV) constitutes a serious social problem due to its short and long-term consequences, which not only directly affect the victim but also generate a rupture of the family system. In this study, direct and indirect effects of exposition to violence within the family, insecurity in the family system (manifested as disengagement and/or preoccupation), and justification of violence on CPV toward mothers and fathers were analyzed with structural equation modeling (SEM). Davies and Cummings emotional security theory (1994) was applied. A total of 904 high school students between 13 and 20 years old participated in this study. Information regarding each participant’s committed CPV was obtained from the Child-to-Parent Aggression Questionnaire. Emotional insecurity was assessed with the Security in the Family System scale. To assess exposition to violence and justification of violence, the Exposure to Violence Questionnaire and Irrational Beliefs Inventory for Adolescents were applied, respectively. Strong relationships between exposition to violence within the family, emotional insecurity, justification of violence, and CPV toward mothers and fathers were observed. The results show that adolescents who are exposed to violence at home are more aggressive in the future. In addition, this relationship is mediated, at least in part, by the justification of violence and emotional insecurity. These results suggest that prevention and treatment of CPV aggressors should focus on improving security within the survivors’ family system as well as modifying attitudes toward violence.

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