The psychological legacy of parental acceptance and rejection: The mediating role of self-esteem in post-traumatic growth

This study investigates the effects of perceived parental acceptance and rejection during childhood on post-traumatic growth (PTG) following parental loss, as well as the mediating role of self-esteem in this relationship. In addition, it examines whether there are significant differences in levels of perceived acceptance-rejection, self-esteem, and PTG based on the gender of the deceased parent. The sample consisted of 921 individuals between the ages of 18 and 70 who had lost a parent within the last ten years. Of the participants, 76.8% were female and 23.2% were male; 22% reported having lost only their mother, 49.6% only their father, and 28.3% reported having lost both parents. Among those who had lost both parents, 60 chose their father and 198 chose their mother as the referent while completing the survey. Data were collected via an online questionnaire using the Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire, the Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Correlation analysis, t-tests, and structural equation modeling were employed for data analysis. Findings revealed that the level of perceived rejection from the mother was significantly higher than that from the father (p = .004). Paternal rejection was found to be significantly and negatively associated with self-esteem (β = –.23, p <.001). Maternal rejection was also significantly associated with self-esteem; however, this effect was not as strong as that of paternal rejection (β = –.14, p = .023). Another notable finding was that both maternal and paternal rejection were significantly and positively associated with PTG (maternal rejection: β = .26, p <.001; paternal rejection: β = .14, p = .005). In individuals who had lost their father, self-esteem played a partial and directionally inconsistent mediating role in the relationship between parental rejection and PTG (β = –.12, p = .000). In this group, paternal rejection directly increased post-traumatic growth while indirectly decreasing it through lowered self-esteem. Based on these findings, the study offers original contributions to the literature on parental rejection and post-traumatic growth, and the results are discussed within the framework of existing research.