Does Parental Rejection Predict Adult Disorganized Attachment?

IPARTheory (Rohner, 2021) proposes children worldwide have an innate need to feel loved and accepted in early relationships. Cross-cultural research suggests experiences with early attachment figures influence future attachments (Khaleque & Ali, 2017). This study investigates how adults’ perceived parental rejection in childhood predicts their current disorganized attachment in romantic relationships. One-hundred-nineteen participants (67.2% women, 32.8% men) with an average age of 19.9 years (SD = 1.48) completed an online survey that consisted of established scales measuring perceived parental acceptance-rejection and adult disorganized attachment (Chronbach’s alphas for all measures ranged from .88 to .95). Women’s perceived maternal rejection predicted their adult disorganized attachment: F(1, 75) = 7.06, p = .010; R² = 8.6%, indicating a small effect size. Conversely, men’s perceived maternal rejection did not predict their adult disorganized attachment: F(1, 35) = .62, p = .44. Women’s perceived paternal rejection predicted their adult disorganized attachment: F(1, 74) = 8.27, p = .005, with R² = 10%, indicating a small effect size. Men’s perceived paternal rejection significantly predicted their adult disorganized attachment: F(1, 35) = 5.34, p = .027, with R² = 13%, indicating a moderate effect size. The results indicate that for both women and men, perceived paternal rejection is predictive of disorganized attachment. However, only for women is perceived maternal rejection predictive. Limitations include small sample size, small effect sizes, and a greater proportion of women participants. These findings are consistent with IPARTheory and suggest that perceived parental rejection may negatively affect future romantic relationships.