Exploring the links from perceived childhood parenting and childhood parent-child relation to Chinese adults’ current psychological distress: Impacts of family-of-origin?

Purpose: This research aims to explore the links from perceived childhood parenting and childhood parent-child relation to Chinese adults’ current psychological distress.

Methods: A sample of 501 Chinese adults (age of 18 ~ 45 years, with 252 men) were recruited from the internet by using Credamo, a reliable online survey platform. A set of questionnaires assessing perceived childhood parenting (i.e., warmth, rejection, and overprotection), childhood parent-child relation, and current psychological distress were used. Correlation and regression analyses were carried out. “Childhood parenting and parent-child relation” were measured by asking participants to recall their childhood experiences (≤12 years old).

Results: Results of correlation analyses showed that childhood warmth was significantly and negatively associated with current psychological distress (women: r = -.32, p < .001; men: r = -.29, p < .001). Childhood rejection was significantly and positively correlated with current psychological distress (women: r = .39, p < .001; men: r = .46, p < .001). However, childhood overprotection was significantly and positively correlated with psychological distress in Chinese men (r = .16, p = .011). Moreover, childhood parent-child relation was significantly and negatively correlated with current psychological distress (women: r = -.22, p < .001; men: r = -.36, p < .001). Finally, with multiple regression analyses by controlling for all covariates (e.g., gender and age), rejection was the only significant and positive predictor of psychological distress (β = 0.37, p < .001), and the whole model could explain 26.8% of the total variance of current psychological distress.

Conclusions: These findings suggest the interactions (e.g., parents’ rejection) between parents and children in adults’ childhood may have an important impact on adults’ current mental health, highlighting the potential existence of “impacts of family-of-origin”.