Intimate Partner Acceptance,Parental Acceptance in Childhood,and Psychological Adjustment Among Turkish Adults in Ongoing Attachment Relationships

Abstract

Drawing stimulus from a central postulate in parental acceptance-rejection theory, this study explored relations among perceived partner acceptance, remembrances of parental (maternal and paternal) acceptance in childhood, and the psychological adjustment of 681 Turkish adults in ongoing attachment relationships. Five self-report questionnaires were used to assess adults' perceptions of partner acceptance, remembrances of parental acceptance in childhood, and adults' psychological adjustment. Results showed that both men and women tended to perceive considerable acceptance from all three attachment figures (i.e., mothers, fathers, and intimate partners). This fact notwithstanding, correlational analyses showed that the less loving either men or women saw any of their attachment figures to be, the more psychologically maladjusted they tended to be. Moreover, multiple regression analyses showed that the level of perceived acceptance by all three attachment figures made significant and independent contributions to the psychological adjustment of both men and women.

Keywords

intimate partner parental acceptance psychological adjustment Turkey

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