Services on Demand
Journal
Article
Indicators
-
Cited by SciELO
-
Access statistics
Related links
-
Similars in SciELO
Share
Salud mental
Print version ISSN 0185-3325
Salud Ment vol.28 n.2 México Mar./Apr. 2005
Artículos originales
Rechazo parental y ajuste psicológico y social de los hijos
El rechazo parental es, según Rhoner, la ausencia de calor, afecto o amor de los padres hacia sus hijos o el privarlos de éstos de modo significativo. Puede adoptar tres formas: a) hostilidad y agresividad; b) indiferencia y negligencia y, c) rechazo indiferenciado. Durante décadas, la investigación científica ha venido demostrando que los estilos parentales en los que predominan las manifestaciones de ira, agresividad y rechazo se relacionan con problemas de salud mental en los hijos. Normalmente, en estas investigaciones se han analizado, por una parte, las relaciones paterno-filiales sin diferenciar al padre de la madre, aunque investigaciones recientes sugieren que el comportamiento tanto de los padres como de las madres puede tener efectos diferenciales en el ajuste psicológico de los hijos, y por la otra, los datos se han obtenido a partir de la observación o de la percepción de un solo individuo. Estos dos aspectos constituyen un gran vacío en este ámbito en estudio.
Con este trabajo nos proponemos analizar la relación entre el rechazo, materno y paterno, y el ajuste psicológico y social de los hijos, teniendo en cuenta la percepción de los hijos (respecto a la conducta paterna y materna y acerca de su propio ajuste psicológico) y la percepción de los padres (respecto a su conducta parental y al ajuste psicológico y social de sus hijos).
La muestra está constituida por 444 familias nucleares, de las cuales 100 forman el grupo en el que las relaciones paterno-filiales fueron valoradas como de riesgo y, 344, el grupo de comparación en el que no existían o se desconocían, relaciones paterno-filiales disfuncionales. Los instrumentos aplicados han sido los siguientes: el cuestionario de aceptación-rechazo parental (PARQ) de Rohner, que evalúa las dimensiones de: calor/afecto, hostilidad/ agresión , indiferencia/negligencia y rechazo indiferenciado; el cuestionario de evaluación de personalidad (PAQ) de Rohner y colaboradores, que evalúa las dimensiones de hostilidad/agresión, dependencia, autoestima negativa, autoeficacia negativa, irresponsividad emocional, inestabilidad emocional y visión del mundo negativa; el Inventario de conducta infantil (CBCL) de Achenbach y Edelbrock, versión padres, que evalúa el comporta miento internalizado y externalizado.
Los resultados, obtenidos a partir de la técnica del Análisis de varianza, demuestran que las características de personalidad de los niños rechazados difieren significativamente de las de los niños cuyas relaciones con sus padres no presentan características disfuncionales. Los niños rechazados, de acuerdo con esas características, tienden a reaccionar con manifestaciones hostiles y agresivas, muestran una escasa confianza tanto en otras personas como fuente de seguridad, confianza y apoyo, como en sus sentimientos de estima, aceptación, y competencia. Igualmente, son fundamentalmente negativos, poco responsivos emocionalmente y su percepción del mundo es la de un lugar inseguro, amenazante y hostil.
También, por su parte, los padres pertenecientes al grupo de rechazo parental perciben a sus hijos con más problemas de ansiedad, depresión e incomunicación, más obsesivo-compulsivos, con más problemas somáticos, retraimiento social (problemas de conducta internalizados), y con más problemas de conducta externalizados, tales como hiperactividad, agresividad y delincuencia. Estos resultados se obtienen independientemente de quien informe respecto a la conducta de rechazo.
Se discuten estos resultados y se sugiere la necesidad de seguir investigando en esta dirección para entender mejor las consecuencias del rechazo y poder realizar intervenciones apropiadas para reducir su impacto negativo en los hijos.
Palabras clave: Salud mental; rechazo parental; ajuste psicológico; problemas de conducta
Intercultural research indicates that two dimensions of parental behavior can be identified in human societies: acceptance and rejection. According to Rohner, parental behavior can be defined as a continuum. In one end of the continuum we could find parents that manifest love and affection towards their children, both verbally and physically. In the other, we could find parents with aversive feelings towards their children, who use severe and abusive practices. Parental rejection is, according to Rhoner, the absence or the significant withdrawal of warmth, affection or love from parents toward their children.
Rohner's framework proposes three dimensions of parental rejection: a) hostility and aggression; b) indifference and negligence and, c) indifferenciated rejection. A long research tradition has demonstrated that parental styles characterized by anger, aggressiveness, and rejection, are related with children's mental health problems. Normally, this field of research has analyzed the relationship between parents and children without differentiating the father from the mother. However, recent research suggests that fathers and mothers, behaviors can have differential effects on the psychological adjustment of their children. Also, research on parents-children relationships, has traditionally used perceptions or observations of either parents or children.
The definition of a parent as hostile or as rejecting or affectionate and warm can not be made only by observing parents' behavior, since acceptance and rejection are not fixed qualities of behavior. From this point of view the effects of parental behavior on their children depends not only from objective elements but also from children's perceptual and inferential processes. Parents and children do not necessarily perceive in the same fashion parental acceptance, demands or punishments. These caveats underlie the importance of analyzing parental behavior both from parents' and children's perspectives.
On behalf of these ideas, the aim of this paper is to analyze the relationships between parental and maternal rejection and the psychological and social adjustment of their children. In order to do so, this study will use both children and parents perceptions. That is, this study will observe the children's perceptions of their mothers and fathers behaviors towards them, as well as the perception of their own psychological adjustment. Also, this study will examine parents perceptions of their parental practices as well as parents perceptions of their childrens' psychological and social adjustment.
Participants in this study are a total of 444 families distributed into two groups (risk and comparison groups). The first group (risk group) consists of 100 families in which parent-child relationships were considered as disfunctional or not adecuate. The second group of families (comparison group) consists of 344 families in which parent-child realtionships were considered as adecuate. The group of families considered at risk were identified by school teachers in public schools (Valencian Community, Spain). Children ranged in age from 7 to 13 years. Of the children 54% were male and 46% female. All the children were atttending school at the time of the research. Teachers had also to contact parents to obtain their agreement to collaborate in the study. Of the parents' questionnaires, 77% were completed by mothers and 23% by fathers.
Measures were the following:
Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire (PARQ). This self-report questionnaire (Rohner et al.) measures perceptions of parental treatment of the child in terms of four dimensions, a) parental warmth and affection, b) parental hostility and aggression, c) parental indiference and neglect, and c) parental undifferentiated rejection. The two forms used in this study allowed us to obtain three measures of parental acceptance-rejection: parents perceptions of their treatment of their children, and children's perceptions of the way they are treated by both their mothers and fathers.
Personality Assesment Questionnaire (PAQ). This self-report questionnaire (Rohner et al.) asseses the way in which children perceive their own personality and behavioral dispositions. The following scales constitute the child PAQ: a) hostility/aggression, b) dependence, c) negative self-esteem, d) negative self-adequacy, e) emotional irresponsiveness, f) emotional uncertainty, and g) negative world view.
Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). This cheklist (Achenbach & Edelbrock) evaluates the behavior problems and social competencies of children as reported by their parents. The behavior problems measure used in this study is composed of two broad dimensions: internalizing and externalizing. Internalizing includes anxious, obsessive, somatic complaints, schizoid behavior, depressed withdrawal, being immature, and being uncommuni-cative. Externalizing includes being delinquent, aggressive, cruel, or hyperactive.
Results show that rejected children are psychologically and socially different from those children who have adequate relationships with their parents (characterized by parental acceptance). Rejected children, when compared to children in the comparison group, manifested significantly more problems. The personality of these children was characterized by dependency, low self-esteem and self-adjustment, emotional instability, and a negative world view.
Because an alternative explanation is that those children with psychological and social problems could bias their perception of their parents behavior as rejecting, this study included also an analysis of parents perceptions of their treatment of their children, as well as their perceptions of their children behavior. By including both perceptions (parents and children) in the study design, the parent-child interaction can be better defined (in terms of acceptance and rejection), and possible biases in the definition of parental behavior can be avoided.
These analyses showed that parents from the risk group, when compared to the comparison group, perceive their children as having more behavior problems expressed both in an externalizing fashion (i.e., being aggressive, hyperactive, disobedient, overactive, and destructive), and in an internalizing fashion (i.e., being anxious, uncommunicative, immature, submissive, and withdrawn).
The results obtained in this study show clearly that rejected children are "different", in both psychological and social dimensions, from other childrens whose parent-child relationships are characterized by parental acceptance. These findings would be consistent with Rohner's parental acceptance-rejection theory according to which these characteristics are manifested by children who experience rejection. Children in the risk group perceive less warmth and affection (expressed psysically or verbally), and more rejection (manifested by hostility and agression, indifference and neglect, and undiferentiated rejection) in the way they were treated by their parents. Also it is interesting to note that these results hold, independently from who is reportimg parental behavior (parents or children).
This study has shown that childrens perceived rejection, either from the mother or the father has a negative outcome for their psychological and social adjustment.
Key words: Mental health; parental rejection; psychological adjustment; behavior problems
REFERENCIAS
1. Achenbach TM, Edelbrock CS: Manual for the Child Behavior Checklist and Revised Child Behavior Profile. University of Vermont Press, Burlington,1983. [ Links ]
2. Amato P: Father-child relations, mother-child relations, and offspring psychological well-being in adulthood. J Marriage Family, 56:1031-1042, 1994. [ Links ]
3. Anderson KE, Lytton H, Romney DM: Mothers' interactions with normal and conduct-disordered boys: Who affects whom? Developmental Psychology, 22:604-609, 1986. [ Links ]
4. Ayala H, Pedroza F, Morales S, Chaparro A, Barragan N: Factores de riesgo, factores protectores y generalización del comportamiento agresivo en una muestra de niños en edad escolar. Salud Mental, 25:27-40, 2002. [ Links ]
5. Baumrind D: Parental disciplinary patterns and social competence in children. Youth Society, 9:239-276, 1978. [ Links ]
6. Bell RQ, Chapman M: Child effects in studies using experimental or brief longitudinal approaches to socialization. Developmental Psychology, 22:595-603, 1986. [ Links ]
7. Bowlby J: Attachmentandloss. Vol. 2:Separation. Basic Books, Nueva York, 1973. [ Links ]
8. Campo A, Rohner R: Relationships between perceived parental acceptance-rejection, psychological adjustment, and substance abuse among young adults. Child Abuse Neglect, 16:429-440, 1992. [ Links ]
9. Cohen P, Brook JS: The reciprocal influence of punishment and child behavior disorder. En J. McCord (Ed.), Coercion and punishment in long-term perspectives. Cambridge University Press pags. 154-164, Nueva York, 1995. [ Links ]
10. Crittenden PM: Distorted patterns of relationship in maltreating families: The role of internal representation models. J Reproductive Infant Psychology, 6:183-199, 1988 [ Links ]
11. Darling N, Steinberg L: Parenting style as context: An integrative model. Psychological Bulletin, 113:487-496, 1993. [ Links ]
12. Day DE, Peterson GW, McCracken C: Predicting spanking of younger and older children by mothers and fathers. J Marriage Family, 60:79-94, 1998. [ Links ]
13. EIsenberg N, Fabes RA, Guthrie IK, Murphy BC y cols.: The relations of regulation and emotionaly to problem behavior in elementary school children. Development Psychopathology, 8:141-162, 1996. [ Links ]
14. Farrington DP: Childhood aggression and adult violence: Early precursors and later-life outcomes. En: Peeler DJ, Rubin KH (eds.). The Development and Treatment of Childhood Aggression. Erlbaum, pags. 5-29, Hillsdale, 1991. [ Links ]
15. Forehand R, Nousiainen S: Maternal and paternal parenting: critical dimensions in adolescent functioning. J Family Psychology, 7:213-221, 1993. [ Links ]
16. Gerard JM, Buehler C: Multiple risk factors in the family environment and youth problem behaviors. J Marriage Family, 61:343-361, 1999. [ Links ]
17. Gershoff ET: Corporal punishment by parents and associated child behaviors and experiences: A meta-analytic and theoretical review. Psychological Bulletin, 128:539-579, 2002. [ Links ]
18 . Gracia E: El maltrato infantil en el contexto de la conducta parental: percepciones de padres e hijos. Psicothema, 2(14):274-279, 2002. [ Links ]
19. Gracia E, Musitu G: Parental acceptance-rejection, child maltreatment and community social support. Intern J Child Family Wefare, 3(97):232-246, 1997. [ Links ]
20. Gracia E, Musitu G: Social isolation from communities and child maltreatment: a cross-cultural comparison. Child Abuse Neglect, 27:153-168, 2003. [ Links ]
21. Gracia E, Herrero J, Musitu G: Evaluación de Recursos y Estresores Psicosociales en la Comunidad. Síntesis, Madrid,2002. [ Links ]
22. Kagan J: The parental love trap. Psychology Today, 12:54-61, 1978. [ Links ]
23. Kaslow MH, Deering CG, Racusia GR: Depressed children and their families. Clinical Psychological Review, 14:39-59, 1994. [ Links ]
24. Lila MS, Musitu G, Buelga S: Adolescentes colombianos y españoles: diferencias, similitudes y relaciones entre la socialización familiar, la autoestima y los valores. Revista Latinoamericana Psicología, 2(32):301-319, 2001. [ Links ]
25. Mash EJ: Measurement of parent-child interaction in studies of child maltreatment. En: Starr RH, Wolfe DA (eds.). The Effects of Child Abuse and Neglect: Issues and Research. Guildford, Londres, 1991. [ Links ]
26. Musitu G, Garcia F: Las consecuencias de la socialización parental en hijos adolescentes. Psicotema, 16:297-302, 2004. [ Links ]
27. Musitu G, Buelga S, Lila MS, Cava MJ: Familia y adolescencia. Síntesis, Madrid, 2001. [ Links ]
28. Palomar J: Relación entre el funcionamiento familiar y la calidad de vida en familias con un miembro alcohólico. Salud Mental, 22:13-21, 1999. [ Links ]
29. Peterson GW, Hann DE: Socializing children and parents in families. En: Sussman MB, Steinmetz S, Peterson GW (eds.). Handbook of Marriage and the Family (2a edición). Plenum, Nueva York, 1999. [ Links ]
30. Repetti RL, Taylor SE, Seeman TE: Risky families: family social environments and the mental and physical health of offspring. Psychological Bulletin, 128:330-366, 2002. [ Links ]
31. Rohner RP: They love me, they love me not: A world wide study of the effects of parental acceptance-rejection, HRAF, New Haven, 1975. [ Links ]
32. Rohner RP, Saavedra J, Granum EO: Development and validation of the parental acceptance rejection questionnaire: test manual. JSAS Catalogue Selected Documents Psychology, 8:7-8, 1978a. [ Links ]
33. Rohner RP, Saavedra J, Granum EO: Development and Validation of the Personality Assesment Questionnaire: Test Manual. ERIC/CAPS, Ann Arbor, 1978b. [ Links ]
34. Rohner RP: Handbook for the study of Parental Acceptance and Rejection. Storrs, Centre for the Study of Parental Acceptance and Rejection, University of Connecticut, Connecticut 1984. [ Links ]
35. Rohner RP: The Warmth dimension. Sage, Londres, 1986. [ Links ]
36. Rohner RP, Bourque SL, Elordy CA: Children's perceptions of corporal punishment, caretaker acceptance, and psychological adjustment in a poor, biracial southern community. J Marriage Family, 58:842-852, 1996. [ Links ]
37. Rohner RP: Parental acceptance and rejection bibliography. University of Connecticut, Center for the Study of Parental Acceptance and Rejection, Storrs, 1998. [ Links ]
38. Rohner R, Brothers S: Perceived parental rejection, psychological maladjustment, and borderline personality disorder. J Emotional Abuse, 1:81-95, 1999. [ Links ]
39. Rothbaum F, Weisz JR: Parental caregiving and child externalizing behavior in nonclinical samples: a meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 116:55-74, 1994. [ Links ]
40. Steinberg L, Lamborn SD, Darling N, Mounts NS, Dornbusch SM: Over-time changes in adjustment and competence among adolescents from authoritative, authoritarian, indulgent, and neglectful families. Child Development, 65:754-770, 1994. [ Links ]
41. Veneziano RA: Perceived paternal and maternal acceptance and rural african american and european american youths' psychological adjustment. J Marriage Family, 62:123-132, 2000. [ Links ]
Recibido: 26 de Julio de 2004; Aprobado: 17 de Noviembre de 2004