Triangulation and Adolescent Development in the U.S. and Japan*

Abstract

Using an indirect measure of family structure, relationships between parents and adolescents were studied in 99 U. S. and 60 Japanese families. As two-person relationships tend toward instability under stress, a third person may be drawn in to stabilize the system. Parents, for example, may avoid the tension in the marital relationship by focusing together on an adolescent's problem, or pull the adolescent into a coalition with one parent. Either way the parents are said to have "triangled" the adolescent. In this study, a relationship is found between parents avoiding tension in their own relationship and their tendency to triangle an adolescent. Triangled daughters, in both cultures, had lower scores on ego development, supporting the hypothesis that such patterns can be detrimental to the adolescent's personal development. The discussion includes comments on cross-cultural research.

Effects of family connection and family individuation

“…Parents who avoid the tension in the marital relationship by focusing together on an adolescent's problem, or pull the adolescent into a cross-generational coalition with one parent against the other, inhibit the child's ego development (L.G. Bell, Bell, & Nakata, 2001). Inter-parental conflict affects the child's emotional security (Davies & Cummings, 1994) and has been associated with greater anxiety, greater depression, lower self-esteem, and conduct disorders in children (Forsstrom-Cohen & Rosenbaum, 1985;Gonzales, Pitts, Hill, & Roosa, 2000;Higgins & McCabe, 1994), as well as with lower satisfaction in couple relationships in young adulthood (Andrews, Foster, Capaldi, & Hops, 2000) and poorer relationships later with their own children (McNeal & Amato, 1998).…”

Interparental boundary problems, parent–adolescent hostility, and adolescent–parent hostility: A family process model for adolescent aggression problems.

“…Interparental boundary problems (IBPs) typically arise in the context of a distressed marital relationship and are marked by parents having difficulty managing their disagreements and keeping their marital problems compartmentalized, or separate, from their children (Bell, Bell, & Nakata, 2001). IBPs are problematic for adolescent development in at least two important ways.…”

A process model of adolescents' triangulation into parents' marital conflict: The role of emotional reactivity.

“…In the present study, we focused on one particular type of triangulation in families, parent-initiated triangulation of offspring into parents' marital conflict. Indicators of adolescents' triangulation into parents' marital conflict include parents' attempts to form an alliance with the child against the other parent and the child becoming the focus of parents' attention to avoid addressing their own problems (i.e., scapegoating or detouring) (Bell, Bell, & Nakota, 2001; Grych et al, 2004). …”