看他不爽的时候，先去看场电影吧！

One of the great divides in male-female relationships is the “chick flick” — movies like “Terms of Endearment” and “The Notebook” that often leave women in tears and men bored. But now, a fascinating new study shows that sappy relationship movies made in Hollywood can actually help strengthen relationships in the real world.

男女关系中一道泾渭分明的界限是所谓“女性电影”——比方说《母女情深》(Terms of Endearment)和《恋恋笔记本》(The Notebook)这样的电影往往会让女人热泪盈眶，让男人百无聊赖。不过现在，一个极为有趣的新研究表明，好莱坞制作的多愁善感的情感片，事实上真的可以在现实生活中帮助增进恋人间的关系。

A University of Rochester study found that couples who watched and talked about issues raised in movies like “Steel Magnolias” and “Love Story” were less likely to divorce or separate than couples in a control group. Surprisingly, the “Love Story” intervention was as effective at keeping couples together as two intensive therapist-led methods.

罗切斯特大学(University of Rochester)的一项研究发现，伴侣们观看像《钢木兰花》(Steel Magnolias)或《爱情故事》(Love Story)这类电影，并讨论电影中提出的种种话题，相比对照组的伴侣，较少出现离婚或分居。尤其让人惊讶的是，看《爱情故事》对情感进行干预，与两次由治疗师主导的强化婚姻辅导同样有效。

The findings, while preliminary, have important implications for marriage counseling efforts. The movie intervention could become a self-help option for couples who are reluctant to join formal therapy sessions or could be used by couples who live in areas with less access to therapists.

这虽然是一项初期研究，但对于婚内咨询有着重要的意义。对于那些不愿参加正式治疗，或者所在地区没有多少婚姻治疗师的夫妇来说，电影干预法可以作为一种自助手段。

“A movie is a nonthreatening way to get the conversation started,” said Ronald D. Rogge, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Rochester and the lead author of the study. “It’s really exciting because it makes it so much easier to reach out to couples and help them strengthen their relationships on a wide scale.”

“看电影可以在不那么骇人的情况下，让大家展开对话，”罗切斯特大学心理学副教授、本研究的第一作者罗纳德·罗格(Ronald D. Rogge)说，“在电影的帮助下，夫妻双方可以十分轻松地敞开心扉，巩固关系，这个发现真是让人十分振奋。”

The initial goal of the study was to evaluate two types of therapist-led interventions called CARE and PREP. The CARE method focuses on acceptance and empathy in couples counseling, while PREP is centered on a specific communication style that couples use to resolve issues. The researchers wanted a third option that allowed couples to interact but did not involve intensive counseling.

这项研究的最初目的是评估两种由治疗师主导的干预方式，分别为CARE和PREP。CARE把重点放在夫妻咨询的接受度和共情心上面，而PREP则集中于夫妻用来解决问题的特定沟通技巧。研究人员想要找到第三种选项，能在不接受强化辅导的情况下让夫妻间互动。

They came up with the movie intervention, assigning couples to watch five movies and to take part in guided discussions afterward. A fourth group of couples received no counseling or self-help assignments and served as a control group.

他们因此想出了这种电影干预法，前三组夫妻或观看五部电影，或参加由他人引导的讨论。第四组则是对照组，既没有接受辅导，也没有得到自助任务。

Going into the study, the researchers expected that the CARE and PREP methods would have a pronounced effect on relationships and that the movie intervention might result in some mild improvements to relationship quality. To their surprise, the movie intervention worked just as well as both of the established therapy methods in reducing divorce and separation.

在研究开始前，研究人员本以为CARE和PREP干预法可以在夫妻关系中起到显著效果，而电影干预法可能会对夫妻关系的质量产生微弱的改善。令他们惊讶的是，电影干预法在减少离婚和分居方面，跟前两种已经为人们所认可的治疗方法同样有效。

Among 174 couples studied, those who received marriage counseling or took part in the movie intervention were half as likely to divorce or separate after three years compared with couples in the control group who received no intervention. The divorce or separation rate was 11 percent in the intervention groups, compared with 24 percent in the control group.

三年后，在参加研究的174对夫妻中，接受婚姻咨询或电影干预的夫妻离婚或分居的可能性，是未接受任何干预的对照组夫妻的一半。在干预组中离婚或分居率为11%，而对照组为24%。

Dr. Rogge and senior author Thomas N. Bradbury, a director of the Relationship Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, published the findings in the December issue of The Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.

这篇研究发现在去年12月的《咨询与临床心理学学刊》(The Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psycology)上，作者是罗格和加州大学洛杉矶分校的伴侣关系研究所主任托马斯·布拉德布里(Thomas N. Bradbury)。