The relationship of parental acceptance and rejection with self-esteem, empathy, and emotional regulation among students

Percepcija ponašanja majke i oca kao prihvaćajućeg ili odbijajućeg značajno pridonosi djetetovom socioemocionalnom razvoju i njegovom funkcioniranju u odrasloj dobi. Dosadašnja istraživanja pokazala su kako je roditeljsko ponašanje, tj. roditeljsko prihvaćanje i odbijanje, povezano sa ponašajnim, kognitivnim i emocionalnim razvojem djece (Ansari i Qureshi, 2013). Samopoštovanje, empatija i emocionalna regulacija pozitivno su povezane te pripadaju domeni socioemocionalnog razvoja pojedinca. Cilj ovoga rada bio je ispitati povezanost prihvaćanja i odbijanja od majke i od oca sa samopoštovanjem, empatijom i emocionalnom regulacijom kod studenata te utvrditi doprinos roditeljskog prihvaćanja i odbijanja od majke i od oca u objašnjenju razine samopoštovanja, empatije i emocionalne regulacije kod studenata. Istraživanje je provedeno na 224 studenta (53 studenta i 171 studentica) jednog sveučilišta u Zagrebu. U istraživanju je korišten Upitnik roditeljskog prihvaćanja-odbijanja (Rohner, 2005), Rosenbergova skala samopoštovanja (Rosenberg, 1989), Skala emocionalne empatije (Raboteg-Šarić, 2002), Upitnik emocionalne regulacije i kontrole (Takšić, 2003) te pitanja o općim demografskim podacima studenata. Dobivena je pozitivna povezanost prihvaćanja od oca sa samopoštovanjem i emocionalnom regulacijom studenata te pozitivna povezanost prihvaćanja od majke sa samopoštovanjem i empatijom studenata. Odbijanje od oca u ovome radu negativno je povezano sa samopoštovanjem i emocionalnom regulacijom, dok je odbijanje od majke negativno povezano sa samopoštovanjem studenata. Rezultati provedenih višestrukih regresijskih analiza pokazuju kako niža razina odbijanja od majke značajno pridonosi višem samopoštovanju studenata, dok viša razina prihvaćanja od majke značajno pridonosi višoj empatiji kod studenata. Roditeljsko prihvaćanje i roditeljsko odbijanje od majke i od oca u ovome radu nisu se pokazali značajnim prediktorima regulacije emocija kod studenata.The perception of mothers’ and fathers' acceptance or rejection significantly contributes to the children's socio-emotional development and their functioning in adulthood. Previous research has shown that parental behaviour, i.e. parental acceptance and rejection, affects the behavioural, cognitive and emotional development of children (Ansari & Qureshi, 2013). Self-esteem, empathy, and emotional regulation are positively correlated and belong to the domain of socio-emotional development of an individual. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship of both mother’s and father’s acceptance and rejection to self-esteem, empathy, and emotional regulation among students, and to determine the contribution of both mother’s and father’s acceptance and rejection in explaining self-esteem, empathy, and emotional regulation among students. The study was conducted on 224 students (53 males and 171 females) of a university in Zagreb. In the study the Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire (Rohner, 2005), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1989), the Scale of Emotional Empathy (Raboteg-Šarić, 2002), the Emotional Regulatory and Control Questionnaire (Takšić, 2003) and the certain questions on demographic data have been used. The results show a positive association between father's acceptance and self-esteem and emotional regulation among students and a positive association between mother's acceptance and self-esteem and empathy among students. The mothers' rejection is negatively related to the self-esteem of students, while fathers' rejection is negatively related to self-esteem and emotional regulation. The results of multiple regression analyses show that a lower level of mothers’ rejection significantly contributes to the higher self-esteem of students, while the higher degree of mothers' acceptance significantly contributes to higher empathy among students. Mothers' and fathers' parental acceptance and rejection were not significant predictors of the emotional regulation among students