A Social Relations Model of Family Negativity and Positivity Using a Genetically-informative Sample

Parents and adolescents were observed in a round robin design in a sample of 687 families to contrast alternative hypotheses about the individual- and relationship-based influences on observed negativity and positivity. The interpersonal circumplex (IPC) provided the theoretical framework and data were analyzed using a multilevel social relations model; in addition, genetic effects were estimated for individual effects. Substantial individual and relationship effects were identified for both positivity and negativity. The positive between-person reciprocity correlations, significant for positivity and negativity, gave strong support for a process of complementarity. Complementarity was lowest in dyads with high power differential (i.e. parent-child dyads). Individual effects were stronger for parents than children. Genetic influences were found to explain a substantial proportion of the individual effects for both positivity and negativity. The findings will help to expand the IPC to interactional partners that know one another well.