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Perceived Parental Hostility and Aggression, and Children’s Psychological Maladjustment, and Negative Personality Dispositions: A Meta-Analysis

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Abstract

The purpose of this meta-analysis is to explore relations between children’s perceptions of parental hostility/aggression, and their psychological maladjustment, and negative personality dispositions as postulated in interpersonal acceptance and rejection theory. The meta-analysis was based on 35 studies from 16 countries in four continents involving 13,406 children (52% boys and 48% girls). All studies included in the meta-analysis, used child versions of the Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire for Mothers and for Fathers (Child PARQ: Mothers and Fathers), as well as the child version of the Personality Assessment Questionnaire (Child PAQ). Results showed that both maternal and paternal hostility/aggression correlated significantly with the psychological maladjustment and with all seven negative personality dispositions, including (1) hostility/aggression, (2) dependence or defensive independence, (3) negative self-esteem, (4) negative self-adequacy, (5) emotional instability, (6) emotional unresponsiveness, and (7) negative worldview of children across ethnicities, cultures, and geographical boundaries. Results further revealed that perceived maternal than paternal hostility/aggression has significantly stronger relations with children’s psychological maladjustment globally.

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  1. Department of Human Development and Family Studies, University of Connecticut, 348 Mansfield Road, Storrs, 06269, CT, USA

    Abdul Khaleque

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All procedures performed in studies included in this meta-analysis involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee, and with 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was not needed because this is a secondary analysis of data from original studies.

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Khaleque, A. Perceived Parental Hostility and Aggression, and Children’s Psychological Maladjustment, and Negative Personality Dispositions: A Meta-Analysis. J Child Fam Stud 26, 977–988 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-016-0637-9

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