GENDER DIFFERENCES IN RECALLED PARENTAL CHILD-REARING BEHAVIORS AND ADULT SELF-ESTEEM

A retrospective questionnaire study investigated gender differences in the relations between the self-reported self-esteem of 155 psychiatri c adult outpatients and their recalled experience of their parents' be havior toward them as children. There were no significant sex differen ces in degree of self-esteem. However, it had a higher correlation to parenting variables for the men than for the women, with maternal pred ictor variables accounting for 36% and paternal predictors accounting for 32% of the variance in the men's self-esteem. Neither combined mat ernal nor combined paternal variables were significant predictors for women. For men, parental acceptance/autonomy was significantly and pos itively related and inconsistency negatively related to self-esteem. P aternal rejection but not maternal rejection was significantly associa ted with low self-esteem only for the women. The greater amount of var iance explained by childrearing variables in the men's self-esteem sco res was attributed to the earlier ego development and consequent incre ased individuation in women. (C) 1996 by W.B. Saunders Company