The relations between parents' acceptance/rejection and undergraduate adjustment to college: the moderating role of undergraduate collectivism

Hua Niu; Jie Liu; Wenji Duan; Shuna Li

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1491540

The relations between parents' acceptance/rejection and undergraduate adjustment to college: the moderating role of undergraduate collectivism

Front Psychol. 2024 Dec 18:15:1491540. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1491540. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Hua Niu¹, Jie Liu¹, Wenji Duan², Shuna Li¹

Affiliations

¹ College of Marxism, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, China.
² Mental Health Center, Qingdao Preschool Teachers School, Qingdao, China.

Abstract

Introduction: The present study examined the moderating effects of undergraduate collectivism in the relations between parents' acceptance/rejection and undergraduate adjustment to college in Chinese societies.

Methods: A survey was conducted covering 5,444 Chinese undergraduates and involved the use of the Parental Acceptance and Rejection Questionnaires (PARQ-short form), the College Student Adaptability Inventory (CSAI), and the Individualism-Collectivism Scale (ICS).

Results: Findings revealed that undergraduate's collectivism moderated the relations between acceptance/rejection and undergraduate adjustment to college for fathers, but not for mothers. Compared to low collectivism undergraduates, those undergraduates high in collectivism experienced stronger positive impacts from fathers' acceptance and more pronounced negative effects from fathers' rejection.

Discussion: Findings from this study highlight the importance of considering how the cultural value (such as collectivism) may influence the relation between parenting and child development.

Keywords: collectivism; moderating role; parents’ acceptance; parents’ rejection; undergraduate adjustment to college.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by the Social Science Planning Project of Qingdao (QDSKL2301114) awarded to Hua Niu, National Social Science Foundation of University Ideological and Political Course Research Project (23VSZ137) awarded to Shuna Li.