Parental rejection and fear of intimacy in the United States and Guatemala: Context and culture matter

The present study examined the relationship between perceived parental acceptance-rejection and fear of intimacy; explored psychological maladjustment and interpersonal relationship anxiety as mediators of this relationship; and examined whether the patterns of relations between perceived parental acceptance-rejection, psychological maladjustment, and fear of intimacy were similar across the cultural contexts of the U.S.A. and Guatemala. Participants (N = 196) were college students from Guatemala (n = 96; 77.6% female) and the U.S. (n = 100; 70% female). Results indicate that in both cultural contexts, perceived maternal rejection was associated with interpersonal relationship anxiety, and perceived paternal acceptance-rejection was associated with psychological maladjustment. However, only in the U.S.A. were both maternal and paternal rejection associated with fear of intimacy. Further, we found that perceived rejection from mothers and fathers was indirectly associated with greater fear of intimacy via greater psychological maladjustment in the U.S.A. sample. Findings suggest the importance of parent-child interactions on later outcomes, and the need to ensure that children feel warmth and acceptance for positive interpersonal relationships and adjustment later in life.