Gottman's balance theory in the context of parent-child relationships

Gottman postulated in his balance theory that the ratio between positive and negative interaction is more relevant regarding stability and satisfaction of couple relationships than the absolute extent of these interaction qualities. This study asks whether and to what extent it is possible to transfer the balance theory to parent-child relationships. We first present an overview of the possibilities and limitations of such a transfer and then an empirical evaluation of data from a foster-family study (GROW & TREAT; N = 251 families, thereof 94 foster families) that assesses whether the ratio of children's positive to negative relationship behavior predicts relationship satisfaction 1 year later. We also investigated a possible mediation through an alienation process. Results show that the ratio as well as the absolute extent of positive child -behaviors (for mothers) and negative child behaviors (for fathers) were significant predictors of parent-child-relationship satisfaction. The mediation could not be analyzed because of restricted variance in the alienation variable. We want to encourage a discussion about the role of such indices for psychotherapy.