Parental Acceptance‐Rejection: Theory, Methods, Cross‐Cultural Evidence, and Implications

This article summarizes concepts, methods, cross‐cultural evidence, and implications of parental acceptance‐rejection theory (PARTheory). The theory focuses primarily on parental love—its expressions, impact, and origins. Nearly 2,000 studies in the United States and cross‐culturally confirm the widely held belief that children everywhere need acceptance (love) from parents and other attachment figures. Evidence has shown that when this need is not met, children worldwide—regardless of variations in culture, gender, age, or ethnicity—tend to self‐report a specific form of psychological maladjustment. Additionally, individuals who perceive themselves to be rejected appear to be more disposed than accepted persons to develop behavior problems, depression or depressed affect, substance abuse, and other mental health‐related issues. Finally, children and adults appear universally to organize their perceptions of acceptance‐rejection around the same four classes of behavior. These include warmth/affection (or coldness/lack of affection), hostility/aggression, indifference/neglect, and undifferentiated rejection.