Effects of Perceived Parental Acceptance-Rejection and Interpersonal Power-Prestige on the Psychological Adjustment of Croatian Adolescents
Cross-Cultural Research: The Journal of Comparative Social Science
Published online on March 28, 2014
Abstract
This article explored the effects of perceived maternal and paternal acceptance, parental power, and parental prestige on adolescents’ psychological adjustment. The sample consisted of 269 high school students (48% boys) ages 15 through 19 years (M = 15.75) from Zagreb, Croatia. The measures used were the child versions of the Parental Acceptance–Rejection Questionnaire for mothers and fathers, the youth version of the Parental Power–Prestige Questionnaire, and the child version of the Personality Assessment Questionnaire. Perceived maternal and paternal acceptances were significantly correlated with youth’s psychological adjustment. Paternal acceptance, power, and prestige were positively intercorrelated among males. Maternal acceptance, power, and prestige were negatively intercorrelated among females. Neither power nor prestige was correlated with youth’s psychological adjustment. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that both perceived maternal and paternal acceptance made significant independent contributions to the psychological adjustment of both males and females. Finally, parental power made an independent contribution to females’ (but not males’) psychological adjustment. Neither power nor prestige moderated the relation between perceived parental acceptance and youth’s psychological adjustment.