Remembrances of parental rejection are associated with loneliness as mediated by psychological maladjustment in young Bangladeshi men but not women

Abstract

Loneliness is a significant public health issue that affects young adults. This investigation drew from interpersonal acceptance‐rejection theory to understand how remembrances of parental rejection contributed to psychological maladjustment and loneliness in Bangladeshi college students (N = 300; 50% female). Students reported their remembrances of mothers' and fathers' acceptance‐rejection, their current psychological maladjustment, and loneliness. Remembrances of rejection by parents in childhood were associated with psychological maladjustment (hostility/aggression, negative self‐esteem, negative self‐adequacy, emotional unresponsiveness, emotional instability, and negative worldview) for young adult men and women. Psychological maladjustment, in turn, was associated with feelings of loneliness in young adulthood for young men, but not women. Remembrances of parental rejection were also associated with greater hostility and aggression over and above general psychological functioning among both men and women. Findings are discussed in the context of different social and structural features of young adulthood for women and men in Bangladesh.

The relations between growth mindset, motivational beliefs, and career interest in math intensive fields in informal STEM youth programs

“…Adolescents’ perceptions of their parents’ mindset might be different from their parents’ self-reported mindset [ 25 ]. Prior research has often noted the limitations of asking children to report on their perceptions of parental behaviors, such as parental rejection [ 112 ], but only gathering parent-report may also pose challenges. Future research should aim to examine both parent report of their mindset as well as adolescent report of their perception of their parent mindset to more carefully explore potential differences.…”