The relationship between perceived parental acceptance and children’s psychological adjustment in the context of parental power and prestige in a Turkish youth sample

Abstract

The present study investigates the relationship and association between perceived paternal and maternal acceptance, and children's psychological adjustment in the context of Parental Power and Prestige among 306 high school students in İstanbul. The mean age of the total sample is 17.23 with a range from age 16 to age 20. The Personal Data Sheet, Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire- Child Short Form (Child PARQ-Turkish Short Form), Personality Assessment Questionnaire (PAQ-Turkish Form), and Parental Power Prestige Questionnaire (3PQ-Turkish Form) were used for data collection. Data analysis was conducted through SPSS and Regression Analysis. Results showed that there are significant gender differences concerning children's perceptions of maternal and paternal rejection, with higher scores for boys. Boys are attributing power and prestige to their fathers more than girls. Results showed that the influence of perceived acceptance on youth’s adjustment tended to be greater, depending on which parent was perceived by the youth to have prestige. The strongest overall contribution of parental acceptance and rejection to youth’s psychological adjustment was made in families where fathers were perceived to have higher prestige than mothers.