對于和父母關系十分親密的“媽寶男”和“爸寶女”，網上有頗多爭議。有人認為他們不夠獨立，或者父母對他們過于溺愛。但一項最新研究顯示，“媽寶男”和“爸寶女”心理更健康。

They may be the stereotypical butt of jokes. But mummy’s boys are less likely to suffer from poor mental health or unpopularity at school, research suggests.

這聽上去像是老套的笑話，但研究顯示，媽寶男不太容易出現心理健康問題，而且在學校人緣也不錯。

And the same is true for daddy’s girls, who enjoy a similar lift in their self-esteem and confidence.

爸寶女也是如此。她們的自尊和自信程度也都較高。

The study by the Marriage Foundation concluded that boys and girls who are close to their parent of the opposite sex fare better at coping with teenage life.

美國婚姻基金會開展的這項研究得出結論稱，與媽媽關系親密的男孩和與爸爸關系親密的女孩更適應青春期。

Boys deemed ‘extremely close’ to their mothers at 14 are 41 percent less likely to have mental health problems, the research found.

研究發現，被認為與媽媽“非常親近”的14歲男孩出現心理健康問題的幾率會降低41%。

And girls close to their fathers are 44 percent less likely to suffer emotional problems or have trouble with their peers.

與父親關系親近的女孩出現情緒問題或與同齡人交流問題的幾率要低44%。

While boys are happier when their parents are married, girls are more reassured by their parents demonstrating a high-quality relationship.

在父母婚姻關系存續期間，男孩生活得更加開心，而女孩更容易因為父母表現出的高質量情感關系而感到更加安心。

The analysis, which uses Millennium Cohort Study data from 11,000 mothers, found that the biggest factor affecting teenage mental health was family breakdown.

這項分析使用了千禧世代研究中來自1.1萬名母親的數據。結果發現，影響青少年心理健康的最大因素是家庭破裂。

Harry Benson, research director of Marriage Foundation, who co-authored the study with Professor Steve McKay from the University of Lincoln, said: ‘Our analysis shows once again that family breakdown remains the number one driver of teenage mental health problems.

婚姻基金會的研究主管哈里-本森說：“我們的分析再次顯示，家庭破裂對青少年心理健康影響最大。”他和林肯大學的史蒂夫-麥凱教授共同撰寫了這份研究報告。

‘Our really interesting new finding is that boys and girls are especially influenced by their relationship with the opposite sex parent.

“我們真正有趣的新發現是，男孩受媽媽影響大，女孩受爸爸影響大。”

‘Boys who are close to their mum tend to have better mental health, as do girls who are close to their dad.

“和媽媽關系親密的男孩以及和爸爸親密的女孩心理更健康。”

‘The fact that these links only apply to one parent and not both suggests that it’s the closeness with parents that affects the child’s mental health and not the other way around.

“這種關系只體現在父母中的一方，而不是雙方，這表明是孩子與父母的親密關系在影響著孩子的心理狀況，而不是孩子的心理狀況在影響其與父母的關系。”

Sir Paul Coleridge, chairman of Marriage Foundation, said: ‘“Mummy’s boys” and “daddy’s girls” have been known about for generations as something of a stereotypical joke.

婚姻基金會主席保羅-科爾里奇爵士說：“長久以來，‘媽寶男’和‘爸寶女’總是受人嘲笑。”

‘But it seems that once again research supports anecdotal experience. Girls and boys, as they develop, do indeed have differing emotional needs and expectations and do best when these needs are satisfied.

“但似乎這項研究再次支持了個別經驗。隨著女孩和男孩的成長，他們的情感需求和期望不同，當他們的需求得到滿足時，他們的表現最好。”

‘A strong relationship with the parent of the opposite sex boosts self-esteem and peer group relationship skills – both of which support sound mental health.

“母子以及父女之間的親密關系可以提升孩子的自尊心，提高他們與同齡人的相處能力，這都有助于心理健康。”

‘Obviously in families that remain together, not only is the trauma of family break-up averted, but also children have a far better chance of maintaining appropriately strong relationship with both parents.’

“顯然，完整的家庭不僅避免了家庭破裂帶來的創傷，而且孩子也有更好的機會與父母保持適當的親密關系。”

英文來源：每日郵報

翻譯&編輯：yaning