INFLUENCE OF PARENTAL ACCEPTANCE – REJECTION ON PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

The research main objective was to assess the relationship between parental love versus lack of love and personality traits of university students. Sample included (N=150) students, with (n=67) males and (n=83) women. The sample was taken from universities in the Jamshoro district of Sindh Province of Pakistan. The data was collected using a random sampling method. The age of respondents from 18 to 28 years old. They were given the following tests in order to collect data. The participants were asked at first to provide demographic information. Adult PARQ control: father and mother scales were used to measure mother and father love or its lacking as perceived by the students, and a personality evaluation questionnaire was also used. The PAQ was used to assess adult self-reports on their psychological well-being. The hypotheses were tested using correlational analysis, regression analysis, and an independent sample t test.  Secondly, was assumed that there would be significant positive correlations between parental acceptance-rejection and personality traits. It was also hypothesized that parental acceptance rejection would be a significant predictor of maladaptive personality characteristics. The gender differences in maladaptive personality characteristics also assessed. Results of correlational analysis indicate that all personality characteristics are positively correlated with parental acceptance-rejection total score. The linear regression indicated parental warmth or its withdrawal influence personality characteristics (R² = .23, F = 44.54, p < .000). The analysis indicates that parental acceptance-rejection cause 23% of variance in maladaptive personality characteristics. The Beta value indicates .15-point decrease in the level of personality characteristics with every 1-unit increase in parental acceptance-rejection. The independent sample t-test show no gender differences in any of the maladaptive personality traits. These findings imply that there is a positive association between mother or father rejection and personality of their children. Behavior of mother and father has a huge impact on children's behavior and personality. Children acquire a good self-concept, self-adequacy, and self-worth when they perceive their parents to be loving, supportive, and caring.