Parental Rejection, Personality Maladjustment and Depressive Symptoms in Female Adolescents in Pakistan

Depressive symptoms in adolescents are matter of concern because of its high prevalence and impairment of functioning in the affected individual. Present research was conducted to examine parental rejection effect on personality maladjustment and depressive symptoms in female adolescents in Pakistan. 100 female adolescents (M = 16.03, SD = 1.74) with minor medical conditions were recruited from thee different hospitals. Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire (Rohner 2005), Personality Assessment Questionnaire (Rohner, 2005) and Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D; Radloff, 1977) were used to assess parental rejection, personality maladjustment and depressive symptoms respectively. Results revealed that parental rejection had significant positive correlation with personality maladjustment and depressive symptoms. Significant positive relationship was found between parental rejection, personality maladjustment and depressive symptoms in adolescents. Personality Maladjustment and parental rejection emerged as significant predictors of depressive symptoms in adolescents. Implications of the findings for parents, health professionals and policy makers are discussed in the context of Pakistani culture.