The mediating role of perceived parental acceptance-rejection and romantic relationship beliefs in the relationship between autonomous self and codependency

The main purpose of this study is to examine the mediating role of parental acceptance-rejection and irrational romantic relationship beliefs in the relationship between the autonomous self and the sub-dimensions of copendence (suppression of emotions, self-sacrifice, and interpersonal control). The study group of the research consists of 440 university students, 315 (71.6%) of whom are female and 125 (28.4%) of whom are male, with a distribution of 21.5 years of age and a standart deviation of 2.25. The Composite Codependence Scale, Autonomous-Relational Self Scale, Relationship Beliefs Scale, Adult Parent Acceptance-Rejection Scale Short Form, and a personal information form developed by the researcher were used to collect the data. Jamovi 2.3.28 and the "lavaan" package in the R program were used in data analysis. Analysis yielded that while there was a significant difference in the self-sacrifice and interpersonal control sub-dimensions of codependence by gender, the emotion suppression sub-dimension did not differ. Mediation analysis revealed that only parental rejection significantly medaited the relationship between autonomous self and emotional suppression. Likewise, irrational romantic relationship beliefs significantly medaited the relationship between autonomous self and self-sacrifice. Finally, both parental rejection and irrational romantic relationship beliefs mediated the relationship between autonomous self and interpersonal control significantly. The findings the research were discussed regarding the relevant literature and suggestions were made for further research.