David E. Cournoyer

Cross-National Perspectives on Parental Acceptance-Rejection Theory

Abstract Parental acceptance-rejection theory (PARTheory) is a theory of socialization that seeks to predict and explain major causes, consequences, and other correlates of parental acceptance-rejection worldwide. In effect, the theory searches for verifiable universals in parent-child relations insofar as these universals relate to issues surrounding perceived parental acceptance-rejection. In this article, we focus on four major issues within the theory. First, we review the common meaning-structure used by children cross-nationally to assess the extent to which they are accepted or rejected by their parents. Second, we describe the apparently universal psychological outcome of experiencing specific degrees of parental acceptance or rejection. Third, we review sociocultural factors that tend to be associated cross-nationally with variations in parental acceptance-rejection. Finally, we review other sociocultural factors, especially expressive correlates such as a peoples institutionalized religious beliefs, that are known to be associated cross-nationally (universally) with perceived acceptance-rejection.

In the Shadow of Race: Immigrant Status and Mental Health

This study explored the relative usefulness of measures of race, ethnicity, and acculturation in understanding the mental health of an ethnically diverse group of low-income women. The 194 women who were enrolled in the Women, Infant and Child program showed no racial/ethnic variation in the prevalence of mental health symptoms and a general mental health syndrome, as measured by the PrimeMD-PHQ screening tool. However, immigrants or migrants were less likely than were natives to report symptoms of depression and distress. Speaking primarily a language other than English was associated with symptoms of distress. The findings suggest that for treatment and program planning for low-income women, racial/ethnic designations may be less useful than may the more direct measures of the cultural differences they presume to reflect.

Evaluating claims for universals: A method analysis approach

This article presents method analysis, an approach to the evaluation of claims that a given proposition constitutes a human universal. Method analysis examines the ranges of samples, research designs, and methods of assessing measurement validity and reliability contained in a group of studies, and it compares the number of observed methods to a list of possibilities. Unit weighting and correction for nonconfirming studies are applied. The result is a coefficient with a range between –1 and 1. Method analysis is intended to supplement methods of research integration, including narrative reviews, meta-analyses, and secondary analysis. Reports concerning two propositions are method analyzed: (a) Low selfesteem is associated with substance abuse, and (b) perceptions of parental acceptance or rejection are associated with psychological adjustment.