Parents show their love in various ways as influenced by their culture. But researchers from the University of Connecticut found that the way children react to parental rejection is universal.
Ronald Rohner, UConn's Director of the Rohner Center for Study of Interpersonal Acceptance and Rejection, said that bi matter how parental acceptance or love is done, it is essential for the wellbeing of a child because positive regard from parents is a fundamental need.
Children Need Unconditional Positive Regard
Rohner Center research scientist Sumbleen Ali said that children have a fundamental need for positive regard from their parents. If it is not met, it leads to personality and psychological problems.
The American Psychological Association (APA) defined unconditional positive regard as an attitude of caring, acceptance, and prizing that others express toward an individual irrespective of their behavior and without regard to the others' personal standards." That means loving and accepting children without any conditions.
The concept of unconditional positive regard was introduced by Carl Rogers in his client-centered therapy and is also emphasized in various psychological therapeutic approaches. Rogers said it is important for the child's self-worth, self-awareness, and personality growth.
The opposite of unconditional positive regard is the conditional positive regard that accepts an individual if their behavior meets their conditions or personal standards. Rogers proposed that although positive regard is universal, conditional positive regard is not beneficial to psychological development.
Parental Rejection Affects Behavior of Children
The new study, titled "Effects of Parental Acceptance-Rejection on Children's Internalizing and Externalizing Behaviors: A Longitudinal, Multicultural Study," published in the Journal of Child and Family Studies, showed that parental rejection consistently leads to the development of negative behavior in children.
According to Phys.org, researchers evaluated 1,315 children in nine countries to study how they reacted to either parental acceptance or rejection over the span of seven years, starting at the age of seven until they were 14 years old.
They found that children who experienced parental rejection grew up having negative behaviors, like bullying, disobedience, anxiety, and sadness. But they also noted that the type of parental rejection plays a crucial part in their development.
Those who were treated coldly by their fathers led to internalizing problems. Moreso, the mother's educational attainment was a factor in externalizing issues because those with higher education tend to have fewer behavioral problems, but it did not matter on internalizing problems.
About a quarter of parents in the world tend to reject their children in which some may consider culturally regarded as the correct way of raising a kid. This study is the first to look at the effects of rejection on the same children over time, and researchers continue to follow them to see if they develop problems and how interpersonal rejection has influenced their brain structure.
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