Relations between Acceptance-Rejection and Fear of Intimacy in Spanish Adults

Abstract

This study tried to analyze whether the experience of remembrance perceived parental acceptance- rejection during childhood is retrospectively associated to Fear of Intimacy in adulthood, and to explore the effects of social anxiety and gender on the relations between these two variables. Five instruments were used: adult Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire for mothers and fathers (short forms), Interpersonal Relationship Anxiety Questionnaire, adult Psychological Adjustment Questionnaire (short form), and Fear of Intimacy Scale. Participants (N=273) ranged from 18 to 75 years (M = 30.11; SD = 12.53), and 65% were females. Correlational and regression analyses were conducted. Correlational analyses indicated that, only for males, paternal rejection remembrance (no maternal) was associated to higher levels of fear of intimacy. Regression analysis showed, only in men, that perceived paternal warmth was a significant predictor of lower levels of fear of intimacy. Results suggest that interpersonal anxiety could moderate the association between fear of intimacy and remembrances of paternal (especially paternal) rejection. Regarding women’s fear of intimacy, no significant results were found.