Perceived Parental Rejection Has an Indirect Effect on Young Women’s Drinking to Cope
- 1 Department of Psychology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, USA
- 2 Department of Psychology, Agnes Scott College, Decatur, USA
- 3 Department of Psychology, Agnes Scott College, Decatur, USA
Abstract
While it has been documented that perceived parental rejection is associated with the use of alcohol, it has not been documented if perceived parental rejection is associated with drinking motives, or self-perceived reasons for drinking alcohol. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to determine if, among young women specifically, perceived parental rejection has an indirect effect, via negative self-esteem, on the drinking motives of coping, enhancement, and sociability. Ninety-five female young adults (M age = 21.15) completed an online questionnaire that included measures of perceived maternal and paternal rejection, negative self-esteem, and drinking motives. The results revealed that higher levels of both perceived maternal rejection and paternal rejection had indirect effects, via more negative self-esteem, on the decision to drink alcohol as a means of coping, but not as a means of enhancement or sociability. These findings suggest that, among young women, higher levels of perceived parental rejection extend to the drinking motive of coping, specifically.
- Boyd, M. R., Bland, A., Herman, J., Mestler, L., Murr, L., & Potts, L. (2002). Stress and coping in rural women with alcohol and other drug disorders. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 16, 254-262. doi:10.1053/apnu.2002.37280
- Campo, A., & Rohner, R. P. (1992). Relationships between perceived parental acceptance-rejection, psychological adjustment, and substance abuse among young adults. Child Abuse and Neglect, 16, 429- 440. doi:10.1016/0145-2134(92)90052-S
- Cooper, M. L., Russell, M., Skinner, J. B., & Windle, M. (1992). Development and validation of a three-dimensional measure of drinking motives. Psychological Assessment, 4, 123-132. doi:10.1037/1040-3590.4.2.123
- Cooper, M. L. (1994). Motivations for alcohol use among adolescents: Development and validation of a four-factor model. Psychological Assessment, 6, 117-128. doi:10.1037/1040-3590.6.2.117
- Cox, W. M., & Klinger, E. (1988). A motivational model of alcohol use. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 97, 168-180. doi:10.1037/0021-843X.97.2.168
- Dawson, D. A., Grant, B. F., Stinson, F. S., & Chou, P. S. (2004). Another look at heavy episodic drinking and alcohol use disorders among college and noncollege youth. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 65, 477-488.
- Khaleque, A., & Rohner, R. P. (2002). Reliability of measures assessing the relation between perceived parental acceptance-rejection and psychological adjustment: A meta-analysis of cross-cultural and intracultural studies. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 33, 86-98. doi:10.1177/0022022102033001006
- Kuntsche, E., Knibbe, R., Gmel, G., & Engels, R. (2005). Why do young people drink? A review of drinking motives. Clinical Psychology Review, 25, 841-861. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2005.06.002
- Larimer, M. E., Lydum, A. R., Anderson, B. K., & Turner, A. P. (1999). Male and female recipients of unwanted sexual contact in a college student sample: Prevalence rates, alcohol use, and depression symptoms. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 30, 3-4.
- Paul, L. A., Grubaugh, A. L., Frueh, B. C., Ellis, C., & Egede, L. E. (2011). Associations between binge and heavy drinking and health behaviors in a nationally representative sample. Journal of Addictive Behaviors, 36, 1240-1245. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2011.07.034
- Preacher, K. J., & Hayes, A. F. (2008). Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in multiple mediator models. Behavior Research Methods, 40, 879-891. doi:10.3758/BRM.40.3.879