Perceived Parental Undifferentiated Rejection and Children’s Personality Dispositions: A Meta-Analysis of Multicultural Studies

Abstract

Prior multicultural meta-analyses have shown that three of the four individual expressions of parental rejection (viz., coldness/lack of affection, hostility/aggression, and indifference/neglect) tend to be significantly associated with all seven of the personality dispositions most central to interpersonal acceptance-rejection theory (IPARTheory). These dispositions include hostility/aggression, dependence, negative self-esteem, negative self-adequacy, emotional instability, emotional unresponsiveness, and negative worldview. However, it was unknown whether the fourth expression of rejection (i.e. undifferentiated rejection) tends to be associated transculturally, as predicted by the theory, with this cluster of dispositions among children. Thus, this meta-analysis investigated 1) the extent to which children’s perceptions of maternal and paternal undifferentiated rejection were related to these personality dispositions, and 2) the extent to which these relations varied by gender of parent. To address these questions, we performed a meta-analysis on 16 studies involving 12,538 children in 14 countries. Results showed significant associations between all seven personality dispositions and both maternal and paternal undifferentiated rejection. The results also showed significantly stronger relations between maternal than paternal undifferentiated rejection on five of the seven indices of children’s personality.

Keywords:

• Maternal rejection
• paternal rejection
• undifferentiated rejection
• personality dispositions
• meta-analysis

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statement

The paper is based on secondary data. Therefore, the data that support the findings of this study are openly available at the publishers’ website (see References cited for the studies included in the meta-analysis).

Additional information

Funding

The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Notes on contributors

Sumbleen Ali

Sumbleen Ali is a Research Scientist at the Rohner Center for the Study of Interpersonal Acceptance and Rejection, HDFS, UConn. She is also an

Assistant Professor in the Department of Human Ecology at the State University of New York, Oneonta. Her work and academic training are centered on investigating the developmental outcomes of interpersonal relationships from behavioral as well as neuropsychological perspective. Guided by Interpersonal Acceptance-Rejection Theory (IPARTheory), her research with children, adolescents, and adults examines how various social contexts (e.g. families and peers) and individual characteristics (e.g. ethnic-racial, gender, and cultural orientations) influences psychological adjustment, physical health, emotion regulation, cognitive decline, and brain functioning. The overarching goal of her research is to promote optimal human development and enhance family functioning across cultures

research is to promote optimal human development and enhance family functioning across cultures.

Mosammat N. Khatun

Nazma Khatun, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Clinical Psychology at Dhaka University, Bangladesh. She is also Commonwealth Professional Fellow, East London NHS Foundation Trust

Abdul Khaleque

Abdul Khaleque, is a Senior Research Scientist in the Ronald and Nancy Rohner Center for the Study of Interpersonal Acceptance and Rejection.

Ronald P. Rohner

Ronald P. Rohner, is Director of the Rohner Center and Professor Emeritus of Family Sciences and Anthropology at the University of Connecticut, Storrs. During the course of his doctoral studies at Stanford University he developed a lasting interest in the antecedents and consequences of parental acceptance and rejection, which is now referred to as Interpersonal Acceptance-Rejection Theory (IPARTheory).  His research interest is embedded in a large intellectual commitment to the field of family studies and cross-cultural psychology –especially as these fields converge on issues of interpersonal and parent-child relations in America and Internationally. Dr. Rohner’s theory is recognized internationally, and his research is cited frequently in textbooks and professional journals. Due to his dedication and lifelong commitment to research he was given the American Psychological Association’s (APA) award for Distinguished Contributions to the International Advancement of Psychology in 2004, APA’s Division of International Psychology Award for Outstanding Psychologist in the US, and the APA Henry David International Mentoring Award in 2017.