Worldwide Implications of Multiple Acceptance and Rejection on the Psychological Adjustment and Maladjustment of Children and Adults: A Global Multi-Cultural Study

The objectives of this study were to explore the combine effects on children’s psychological adjustment and maladjustment of perceived acceptance or rejection by mothers, fathers, and teachers; and also to examine the combine effects on adults’ current psychological adjustment and maladjustment of perceived acceptance or rejection by mothers and fathers in childhood and by intimate partners in adulthood. The samples consisted of 586 children (47% boys and 53% girls) and 1,709 adults (35% males and 65% females). Among the children 573 were in the multiple acceptance group and 13 were in the multiple rejection group, and among the adults 1,645 were in the multiple acceptance group and 64 were in the multiple rejection group. The samples were selected from 11 countries in four continents. Results showed that significantly more girls than boys, and more women than men experienced multiple acceptance. Regardless of age, gender, and culture, the majority of sample in the multiple acceptance group reported healthy psychological adjustment, and the majority of respondents in the multiple rejection group reported moderate to severe psychological maladjustment. Results also showed a significant tendency for adults to experience more rejection by all attachment figures than did children regardless of culture and gender.