The relationship between coping with parental rejection and locus of control, learned resourcefulness and partner acceptance-rejection

Parental Acceptance-Rejection (PARTheory) is a theory of socialization that explains and predicts the effects of parental acceptance-rejection in childhood on the psychological development and psychological adjustment of individuals in adulthood. Studies have demonstrated that individuals who perceived rejection in their childhood tend to be intimate with people who would reject them. According to PARTheory, individuals who were rejected in childhood but have a relatively good psychological adjustment today are named as ?copers?. There isn?t much evidence concerning how these people cope with the negative effects of rejection.For this reason, this current study attempted to answer the question ?whether university students? coping with parental acceptance-rejection is related to locus of control, learned resourcefulness and intimate partner acceptance-rejection or not? by employing Parental Acceptance and Rejection Questionnaire (applied separately for mothers and fathers), Personality Assessment Questionnaire, Rosenbaum's Learned Resourcefulness Scale, Locus of Control Scale, and Intimate Partner Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire.The population of the study was Atatürk University students. The sample of the study consisted of university students from Faculty of Education, Faculty of Fine Arts, Faculty of Science and Literature, and Faculty of Pharmacy.According to the findings of the study, it can be seen that there is a significant relationship between parental acceptance-rejection perceived in childhood and current psychological adjustment of the person. In terms of gender, parental acceptance-rejection perceived in childhood was related to present day psychological adjustment more in males than in females. Amongst females, maternal acceptance-rejection was related more to psychological adjustment than paternal acceptance-rejection.It was found that learned resourcefulness and locus of control had a mediating effect in the relation between parental acceptance-rejection in childhood and psychological adjustment in adulthood. In other words, parental acceptance-rejection, learned resourcefulness and locus of control all affect psychological adjustment of individuals. When the mediating effect of intimate partner acceptance-rejection on the relation between childhood experiences and present day psychological adjustment, it was found that, in males, intimate partner acceptance had an indirect mediating effect on the relationship between paternal acceptance-rejection in childhood and psychological adjustment. However, no such effect was found in females. In females, partner acceptance had no mediating effect on the relationship between maternal acceptance in childhood and psychological adjustment. In males, however, partner acceptance had a mediating effect on the relationship between maternal acceptance in childhood and psychological adjustmentKeywords: Parental Acceptance-Rejection, Coping, Locus of Control, Learned Resourcefulness