Relations among Memories of Parental Acceptance-Rejection, Psychological (Mal)Adjustment, Forgiveness, and Vengeance among Turkish Adults

KUYUMCU B. E., Altın M.

Journal of Genetic Psychology, vol.185, no.3, pp.204-218, 2024 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 185 Issue: 3
  • Publication Date: 2024
  • Doi Number: 10.1080/00221325.2023.2292729
  • Journal Name: Journal of Genetic Psychology
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, IBZ Online, PASCAL, Periodicals Index Online, Applied Science & Technology Source, Child Development & Adolescent Studies, EBSCO Education Source, Educational research abstracts (ERA), MLA - Modern Language Association Database, Psycinfo
  • Page Numbers: pp.204-218
  • Keywords: Forgiveness, parental acceptance-rejection, psychological (mal)adjustment, Turkish adults, vengeance
  • Gazi University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

The study investigated relations among memories of parental (maternal and paternal) acceptance-rejection, forgiveness, and vengeance, as mediated by psychological (mal)adjustment. The sample consists of 323 Turkish adults (50% females; Age range: 18–61 years; Mage = 35.73, SD = 10.41) from Istanbul, Turkiye. Participants responded to mother and father versions of the adult Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire (adult PARQ; short form), the adult Personality Assessment Questionnaire (adult PAQ; short form), the Heartland Forgiveness Scale, the Vengeance Scale, and the Personal Information Form. The results showed that both men and women remembered their parents as substantially warm and accepting during childhood and self-reported having fair psychological adjustment. Men and women were found to be equally likely to be forgiving as unforgiving and reported no dispositions toward vengeance. However, men reported higher levels of vengeance as compared to women. Psychological adjustment mediated the relations between parental acceptance and forgiveness, while psychological maladjustment mediated the relations between parental rejection and vengefulness for women and men. Implications of the findings and future research directions are discussed.