Parental Power-Prestige and the Effects of Paternal Versus Maternal Acceptance on the Psychological Adjustment of Korean Children

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine whether or not the relationship between perceived parental acceptance and psychological adjustment of Korean children is moderated by parental power and prestige. Two hundred nine children (49% boys) ages 11 through 13 years (M = 11.63) participated in the study. The measures used were the child versions of the Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire for mothers and fathers, the Parental Power and Prestige Questionnaire, and the child version of the Personality Assessment Questionnaire. Significant gender difference was found in children's psychological adjustment. Results showed that maternal acceptance and paternal acceptance were significantly correlated with psychological adjustment among both boys and girls. Parental prestige was significantly and negatively correlated with paternal acceptance among girls only. Results of hierarchical regression analyses revealed that neither power nor prestige was uniquely associated with either boys' or girls' psychological adjustment. However, these analyses did reveal that children's perceptions of parental power and prestige moderated the relationship between perceived parental acceptance and children's psychological adjustment.