Parental Mistakes Experienced in Childhood by Girls and Their Needs and Values System as Adult Women

Abstract

Childhood experiences are the foundation on which many personality traits develop. Stressful experiences such as parental mistakes may particularly impact the formation of personality traits. The aim of the current study was to examine how the childhood experiences of parental mistakes, such as aggression, rigor, and so forth, co-occur with the ability to satisfy one’s needs and to one’s value system in adulthood. The study was carried out on a sample of 402 women aged 21 to 50 years. In order to answer the research questions, a cluster analysis using data mining algorithms and Social Network Analysis was performed. The study revealed that women who experienced fewer parental mistakes in childhood displayed greater need fulfillment in adulthood than did women who experienced more parental mistakes. Women differed in their value systems depending on whether they experienced more mistakes from their fathers or mothers. Women who experienced fewer mothers’ mistakes held more values that were focused on others, while women who experienced fewer fathers’ mistakes espoused more self-centered values.