ORIGINAL PAPER The Intergenerational Transmission of Interpersonal Problems: An Exploration Klaus Boehnke Ó Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014 Abstract This paper presents results on the intergenera- tional transmission of interpersonal problems. Ninety-eight German mothers, fathers, and their young adult offspring completed the German version of the Inventory of Inter- personal Problems (IIP-D64), which is conceptually based on the assumption of a circumplex structure of eight inter- personal problems. Model learning and psychodynamic theories were used to formulate assumptions about possible intergenerational similarity and dissimilarity, as well as about effects of family and societal context. The results showed the highest intergenerational correlations for three of the eight interpersonal problems in the IIP-D64, namely nonassertiveness, overly strong accommodation, and self- sacrificing tendencies. Intergenerational similarity was found only for mother–offspring dyads for two other prob- lems: domineering and vindictiveness tendencies. No sig- nificant intergenerational similarity was found for coldness, social inhibition, or intrusiveness. In-depth analyses revealed higher similarities in families in which at least one parent had an overall IIP-64 score equal to or more than one standard deviation from the norm sample mean (as opposed to families where both parents had overall IIP-64 scores closer to the normative German mean). The findings are tentatively interpreted as suggesting that intergenerational transmission occurs only for problems on one axis of the interpersonal circumplex, i.e., the agency axis, but not for problems on the communality axis. Keywords Interpersonal problems Á Transmission Á Interpersonal circumplex Á Germany Introduction In spite of the fact that interpersonal problems are a prominent theme for clinical psychologists, psychothera- pists, and other health-care practitioners, their family-based transmission rarely has been a research focus. This is sur- prising because knowledge about intergenerational simi- larities in the prevalence of interpersonal problems would offer insights into therapeutic approaches to deal with them in cases where they develop into mental health disorders. If there is a sizeable intergenerational similarity, family- focused therapeutic approaches for treating mental health problems in the interpersonal sphere could have a clear advantage over person-centered approaches. Interpersonal problems are usually conceptualized in the framework of a circumplex. Thinking in the field of inter- personal problems is often traced back to Sullivan et al.’s (1953) elaborations of an interpersonal theory of psychiatry. Empirically, this theory was first supported by Leary (1957), who developed a circumplex model of interpersonal behavior. According to Leary, there are two dimensions of interpersonal behavior, the first dimension being the polarity of dominance versus submission, and the second dimension being the polarity of hostility versus friendliness. Horowitz and Vitkus (1986) reported that Leary distinguished eight separate types of interpersonal modes of conduct around the circumplex, exemplified by the following behaviors: domineering, advis- ing, loving, deferring, submitting, sulking, hating, and scolding. The labels, or names, of the eight interpersonal problems that arise from these modes of conduct are incon- sistent among the different published diagnostic instruments K. Boehnke (&) Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences (BIGSSS), Jacobs University Bremen, Campus Ring 1, 28759 Bremen, Germany e-mail: k.boehnke@jacobs-university.de 123 J Child Fam Stud DOI 10.1007/s10826-014-0103-5