Examining the effects of perceived parental acceptance rejection and Adlerian personality priorities on emotional manipulation

Emotional manipulation in romantic relationships is a form of abuse that undermines individuals' emotional security and psychological well-being. In addition, emotional manipulation is often difficult to detect and generally ignored. The fact that emotional manipulation is less visible than physical violence makes it difficult to classify such behavior as violence and leads to its normalization within relationship dynamics. This situation can cause individuals to struggle to identify relationship problems and delay seeking help. Early childhood experiences and personality dynamics may be related to individuals becoming perpetrators or victims of emotional manipulation in their romantic relationships in adulthood. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the effect of perceived parental rejection and Adlerian personality priorities on the types of emotional manipulation in romantic relationships. In addition, types of emotional manipulation were examined in terms of various demographic variables such as gender, previous romantic relationship experience, and relationship type. In the study, criterion sampling, a non-random sampling method, was employed, and the criterion for participation was defined as having been in a romantic relationship for at least six months. Within this scope, the study group consisted of 426 individuals (312 women/114 men) aged 18-65 who had been in a romantic relationship for at least six months. The data was collected using the Personal Information Form, Adult Parent Acceptance-Rejection Scale/Short Form, Multidimensional Emotional Abuse Scale, and Adlerian Personality Priorities Scale. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 27 software. Independent samples t-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to analyze the differences according to demographic variable, and two-stage hierarchical regression analyses were performed to test the hypotheses. Results of the hierarchical regression analysis showed that perceived rejection from the father predicted restrictive swallowing, hostile withdrawal, and dominance/subjugation types of emotional manipulation, while perceived rejection from the mother predicted only humiliation type of emotional manipulation. The personality priority of pleasing predicted restrictive swallowing and hostile withdrawal types of emotional manipulation. Additionally, types of emotional manipulation differed according to demographic variables such as gender, previous romantic relationship experience, and relationship type. The findings were discussed within the theoretical perspective framework and existing literature studies, and recommendations were provided for future researchers and professionals working in the field.