Founded in family systems theory, the spillover hypothesis suggests that marital relationships are linked to parenting. The current study used meta-analysis to extend this literature and examine links between marital positivity and marital negativity with absolute levels of parental differential treatment (PDT) of siblings. Multilevel data included 2575 effect sizes nested within 45 sources (articles/raw datasets), nested within 12 unique samples. Lower marital positivity and greater marital negativity were linked to greater differences in treatment. Those main effects, however, were moderated by several source and effect size characteristics. For example, links were stronger when effect sizes were based on differential positive interactions. Caution is warranted in most cases; effect sizes were generally small. Findings, however, suggest that parents should be aware of how they may treat their children differently in connection with poorer marital relationships. Future research on PDT should include a greater focus on the domains of differential treatment.K E Y W O R D S differential treatment, family systems spillover, favoritism, marital quality and relationships, parenting, siblings According to family systems theory, interactions, experiences, and relationships within one unit of the family influence other parts of the family system (Cox & Paley, 1997). Based on this theoretical notion, the overarching goal of the current study was to examine the link between

Based upon the psychological needs delimited in self‐determination theory, we created the sexual wholeness model to encapsulate the different dimensions (physical, emotional, and meaning) that create couple sexuality. We evaluated the model with data from two national samples (Sample 1, n = 610; Sample 2, n = 884), by examining the association between sexual, relationship, and life satisfaction, and attachment with the different elements of the sexual wholeness model using harmonious sexual passion as an intermediate variable. The emotional dimension had the strongest associations in both samples with harmonious sexual passion and all other outcomes except attachment. The physical dimension of sexuality had a surprisingly strong association with attachment and sexual satisfaction. In addition, couples' self‐evaluation of the degree of sexual wholeness in their relationship was strongly associated with harmonious passion and all other outcomes, providing another level of validity to the dimensions of the model and the potential utility for using this model to assist in couple therapy.

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Beliefs that individuals bring into their relationships about sexuality can influence sexual passion. In the first study to comprehensively analyze this association, we assessed how sexual destiny and growth beliefs and sexual sanctification influenced harmonious, obsessive, and inhibited passion. Data were collected from a national sample of couples (N = 482 dyads). Utilizing actor/partner interdependence model, we found that men and women's sexual growth beliefs and sexual sanctification predicted their own and their partner's harmonious sexual passion. Men and women's sexual sanctification had a strong association with their own levels of obsessive passion. Sexual destiny beliefs of men and women predicted their own levels of obsessive passion.

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