Parental Acceptance–Rejection and Psychological Maladjustment Among Slovenian High School Students: Gender and Contextual Correlates

Perceived parental acceptance–rejection is associated with adolescent psychological adjustment, but evidence from Central Europe remains limited. Guided by IPARTheory, this cross-sectional study examined associations between perceived maternal and paternal acceptance–rejection and psychological maladjustment among 544 Slovenian secondary-school students (58% girls; M age = 16.5 years). Participants completed the Child Parental Acceptance–Rejection Questionnaire (PARQ) for mothers and fathers and the Adult Personality Assessment Questionnaire (PAQ). Maternal PARQ scores were modestly lower than paternal scores, indicating greater perceived maternal acceptance (Wilcoxon signed-rank test, p < 0.001, r = 0.27). In a regression model adjusted for gender, paternal PARQ (B = 0.161, SE = 0.048, β = 0.183, p < 0.001) and maternal PARQ (B = 0.273, SE = 0.055, β = 0.274, p < 0.001) were independently associated with higher PAQ maladjustment scores; female gender was also associated with higher PAQ scores (B = 15.47, SE = 1.98, β = 0.308, p < 0.001). The model explained 25.1% of PAQ variance. The results were similar after adjustment for programme type and year. Academic achievement was weakly associated with lower perceived parental rejection and lower psychological maladjustment, whereas parental employment status showed no significant associations. Exploratory family-status comparisons and interaction models were nonsignificant. Findings support the cross-cultural relevance of IPARTheory, but causal interpretation is limited by the cross-sectional, single-informant design and the absence of school identifiers.