Exploring PARTheory, Risk Factors for CSA, and Early School Age Development

David R. Jones



Abstract
This review will demonstrate the need for additional research focused on applying parental acceptance-rejection theory (PARTheory) to the issue of child sexual abuse (CSA), with specific attention given to children in the early school age stage of development. Although CSA risk factors with possible connections to parental acceptance-rejection are generally recognized, PARTheory may give researchers an empirically sound base from which to draw correlations between parental rejection and child sexual abuse. If such correlations are found, social policies and programs of prevention, intervention, and treatment can be developed using the demonstrable principles of human behavior emerging from PARTheory (Rohner, 2004).




Exploring Parental Acceptance-Rejection Theory,
Risk Factors for Child Sexual Abuse, and Early School Age Development

Introduction

Defining and clarifying the issues

This review will demonstrate the need for additional research focused on applying parental acceptance-rejection theory (PARTheory) to the issue of child sexual abuse (CSA), with specific attention given to children in the early school age stage of development. PARTheory is a theory of socialization that attempts to predict and explain worldwide causes, consequences, and other correlates of perceived parental acceptance-rejection (Rohner & Khaleque, 2002). The theory specifically predicts that parental rejection has consistent negative effects on the psychological adjustment and behavioral functioning of both children and adults worldwide, including impaired self-esteem, impaired self-adequacy, and emotional instability (Rohner, 2002). Whether or not the consistent negative effects from parental rejection correlate to increased risks for CSA has yet to be addressed by PARTheory.


Pedophiles, familial and nonfamilial, look for certain common characteristics in children as they determine which children to victimize (Sanderson, 2004; Finkelhor & Asdigian, 1995 as cited in Boney-MCCoy & Finkelhor, 1996). Children most at risk are those who feel unloved, unwanted, or who are unpopular, lonely, friendless, or being bullied (Sanderson). Because of their loneliness and isolation, or lack of confidence or low self-esteem, these children crave attention and affection, and a feeling of ‘specialness’ (Sanderson). These characteristics are similar to those experienced from perceived parental rejection, according to PARTheory. The correlation of perceived parental rejection to CSA has yet to be measured, though, and possible connections remain subjective until further study.

From a developmental perspective, children in the early school age stage of development are perhaps more vulnerable to developing a scheme for low self-esteem and developing inhibition if they perceive their parents are rejecting them (Kistner, J.A., Ziegert, D.I., Castro, R., & Robertson, B., 2001; Newman & Newman, 2006). Because inhibited children are more likely to be lonely, isolated, shy, and withdrawn, especially as they move into later stages of childhood (Newman & Newman), these children share characteristics with those of children who are more at risk of CSA.


At this time, there is not enough research connecting PARTheory and risk factors for CSA, specifically for children in the early school age stage. Although risk factors with possible connections to parental acceptance-rejection are generally recognized – low self-esteem, feeling unloved, feeling unwanted, isolation, family problems (Sanderson, 2004) – PARTheory may give researchers an empirically sound base from which to research possible correlations between parental rejection and child sexual abuse. If such correlations are found, social policies and programs of prevention, intervention, and treatment can be developed using the demonstrable principles of human behavior emerging from PARTheory (Rohner, 2004).

Summary of previous investigations


CSA and early school age development

According to findings from the Third National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect, CSA more than doubled from 1986 to 1993 (Sedlak & Broadhurst, 1996). In fact, the estimated number of sexually abused children under the Harm Standard (a stringent standard requiring that an act or an omission result in demonstrable harm in order to be classified as abuse or neglect) rose from 119,200 in 1986 to 217,000 in 1993, an 83% increase. During the same time span, the estimated number of sexually abused children under the more lenient Endangered Standard¹ increased from an estimated 133,600 children to 300,200, a 125% increase. Of these children, the rate of sexual abuse was relatively constant for children ages 3 and older, indicating a very broad range of vulnerability from preschool age on.

Because the rate of sexual abuse was relatively constant for children ages 3 and older, this review will focus on the early school age of children’s development, ages 4-6 years. These are the years when children begin to become more self aware and their cognitive gains allow them to spend more time dealing with issues of social comparison, self-criticism, and self-evaluation. As a result, self-esteem becomes especially important during early childhood (Newman & Newman, 2006). One of the sources for self-esteem comes from others who provide messages of love, support, and approval. Views of the self as being loved, valued, admired, and successful contribute to a sense of worth. Views of the self as being ignored, rejected, scorned, and inadequate contribute to a sense of worthlessness (Newman & Newman).

In research with kindergartners, Kistner et al. (2001) imply that a scheme for low self-esteem and helplessness may begin to be crystallized in the early school age period (Newman & Newman, 2006). Early school age is also the time when children begin to develop the prime adaptive ego quality of purpose or the core pathology of inhibition. Inhibition can emerge when parents or caregivers use high levels of love withdrawal and guilt-inducing interactions with their children. These kinds of interactions suggest to the child that the parent’s love, affection, and approval are conditional on the child matching certain specific parental standards. The child then becomes self-conscious and restrained in action. In contrast to the sense of confidence and agency implied in the notion of purpose, a child who is inhibited does not want to take the risks associated with imposing a plan or suggesting a direction. Inhibited children are likely to emerge as shy, withdrawn, and often lonely during the subsequent period of childhood (Newman & Newman, 2006). According to research, children with these characteristics have been identified as being more at risk of being sexually abused (Sanderson, 2004; Finkelhor & Asdigian, 1996).

PARTheory

While the empirical study of parental acceptance-rejection has a history that can be traced to the 1890s (Stodgill, 1937 as cited in Rohner 2005), PARTheory is “an evidence-based theory of socialization and lifespan development that attempts to predict and explain major causes, consequences, and other correlates of parental acceptance-rejection within the United States and worldwide” (Rohner, 2004, p. 831). PARTheory is divided into three complementary subtheories, one of which is most relevant to this review: personality subtheory.
Personality subtheory attempts to predict and explain major personality or psychological consequences of perceived parental acceptance-rejection in childhood and adulthood (Rohner, 2004). As understood in PARTheory, parental acceptance and rejection form the warmth dimension of parenting, which is a continuum on which every human can be placed because everyone has experienced in childhood more or less love at the hands of major caregivers, called “parents” in PARTheory. In essence, the warmth dimension has to do with the quality of the affectional relationship between parents and their children and with the physical, verbal, and symbolic behaviors parents use or are perceived to use to express these feelings and behaviors.

Parental acceptance marks one end of the dimension and refers to warmth, affection, care, comfort, concern, nurturance, support, or simply the love that children can experience in their relationship with parents and other attachment figures. Parental rejection marks the other end of the warmth dimension and refers to the absence or withdrawal of these feelings and behaviors and by the presence of a variety of physically and psychologically hurtful behaviors (see Figure 1). Universally, parental rejection can be shown by any combination of four principal expressions: (1) cold and unaffectionate, the opposite of being warm and affectionate; (2) hostile and aggressive; (3) indifferent and neglecting; and (4) undifferentiated rejecting which refers to individuals’ beliefs that their parents do not really care about them or love them, even though there might not be clear behavioral indicators that the parents are neglecting, unaffectionate, or aggressive toward them (Rohner, n.d.).

Figure 1
The Warmth Dimension of Parenting
(image placeholder)From Rohner, R., Khaleque, A., & Cournoyer, D., (n.d.). Parental acceptance-rejection theory, methods, evidence, and implications. Retrieved September 21, 2005, from http://www.cspar.uconn.edu/

For these reasons, PARTheory tends to emphasize the phenomenological perspective, although it also utilizes the behavioral perspective in studies. Parental acceptance-rejection is symbolic and even though parents everywhere may express acceptance and rejection, the way they do it is highly variable and filled with cultural and sometimes idiosyncratic meaning (Rohner, 2004). As Kagan (1978) put it, “Parental rejection is not a specific set of actions by parents but a belief held by the child” (as cited by Rohner 2004, p. 831). Thus, PARTheory focuses on perceived parental acceptance-rejection.

As mentioned earlier, the personality subtheory of PARTheory is the most relevant to the discussion of early child development and risk factors for sexual abuse. According to Rohner (2004),
" personality subtheory postulates that the emotional need for positive response from significant others and attachment figures is a powerful motivator and when children do not get this need satisfied adequately by their parents (or adults do not get this need met by their attachment figures), they are predisposed to respond emotionally and behaviorally in specific ways." (p.833)

Individuals who feel rejected tend to be more anxious and insecure, and in an attempt to dispel these feelings and satisfy their needs they will often increase their attempts for positive response. In sum, they tend to become more dependent, which in PARTheory refers to the internal, psychologically felt wish for emotional support, care, comfort, attention, nurturance, and similar behaviors from attachment figures. Very dependent people are likely to have frequent and intense desires for positive response and are likely to make many bids for response (Rohner, 2004). Beyond a certain point, which varies from individual to individual, the hurt of continuing rejection becomes so painful that rejected children are likely to make fewer and fewer attempts for positive response. Because of anger and pain, they turn away from the rejecting parent and often become defensively independent, emotionally unresponsive, and emotionally unstable (see Figure 2).


Figure 2
Dependence/Independence in Relation to Parental Acceptance-Rejection
(image placeholder)
From Rohner, R., Khaleque, A., & Cournoyer, D., (n.d.). Parental acceptance-rejection theory, methods, evidence, and implications. Retrieved September 21, 2005, from http://www.cspar.uconn.edu/

According to the personality subtheory, not only do these children feel unloved, but through distorted mental representations of themselves (an early school age developmental task) they tend to see themselves as being unlovable, and thus their sense of self-esteem becomes impaired (Rohner, n.d.). These children’s mental representations of self, of significant others (including attachment figures), and of the world around them lead them to seek or avoid certain situations and kinds of people. According to Rohner, “Because of their tendency toward faulty styles of causal attribution, distorted information processing, selective attention, and selective perception, rejected children tend to self-propel along qualitatively different developmental pathways from accepted or well-loved children” (p.4). Of consequence to this review, PARTheory research has demonstrated that the pathways of rejected children are predictable.

While some children and adults cope emotionally with the experience of rejection more effectively than others (an issue dealt with in the coping subtheory of PARTheory), 80% of those measured respond as PARTheory predicts, according to more than 50 studies within the United States and cross-culturally. Thus, the experience of parental acceptance or rejection appears to be associated universally with the form of psychological (mal)adjustment postulated in the personality subtheory (Rohner, n.d.; Rohner 2004). In addition, Rohner (2004) cites recent brain-imaging evidence (Eisenberger, Lieberman, & Williams, 2003) that shows that the pain of perceived rejection is very real. In fact, functional MRI studies reveal that the anterior cingulated cortex and the right ventral prefrontal cortex are activated when people feel rejected, just as they are when people experience physical pain.

Concerning the effects of such pain, Rohner and Britner (as cited in Rohner & Khaleque, 2002) have provided worldwide correlations between parental acceptance-rejection and other mental health issues such as the following: depression and depressed affect; behavioral problems, including conduct disorders, externalizing behaviors, and delinquency; and, substance abuse. Of developmental significance are longitudinal studies that show that perceived parental rejection in childhood “often precedes the development of depressive symptoms in adolescence and adulthood” (Rohner & Khaleque, 2002, p.4). While depression and depressed affect are risk factors for CSA, specific studies have not been done to determine whether other, perhaps more specific, correlations exist between parental acceptance-rejection and CSA.

Risk factors for CSA

Considering aspects of early school age development, discoveries from PARTheory, and the risk factors for sexual abuse, it is not surprising that early school age begins the time frame when children are statistically more likely to be sexually abused. According to Fleming, Mullen, and Bammer (1997), in a study of key factors associated with childhood sexual abuse in girls, four factors remained significant predictors of sexual abuse when considered at the multivariate level: having been physically abused; having a mother who was mentally ill; being socially isolated; and lacking any emotional support network.

For both familial and nonfamilial sexual abuse, “the predictors are similar in that they portray a situation of a child living in an environment that is devoid of care, safety, and affection, but filled with fear, loneliness, confusion, and distrust” (Fleming, Mullen, & Bammer, 1997, p.56). Concerning emotional factors, Finkelhor (1984) noted that child emotional deprivation may lead the child to becoming more open to accepting inappropriate affection from an adult (as cited in Tomison, 1996). In addition, multiple studies (Finkelhor & Asdigian, 1995; Finkelhor & Baron, 1986; Smith, Bowers, Binney, & Cowie, 1993) have suggested that certain characteristics of children, including a need for affection and approval, emotional deprivation, and insecure attachment, may compromise their protective capacities and make them targets for aggressors and predators. See Table A in the Appendix for a more complete list of common risk factors for child abuse and neglect as reported by the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information (NCCANI) (2004).

According to NCCANI, poverty has been linked with maltreatment, particularly neglect, in each of the national incidence studies (Sedlak & Broadhurst, 1996) and has been associated with child neglect by Black (2000) and found to be a strong predictor of substantiated child maltreatment by Lee and Goerge (1999). While these studies do not show a specific association between neglect and CSA, Finkelhor, Moore, Hamby, and Straus (1997) found higher rates of CSA where the quality of parenting may have been compromised because of the absence of a biological parent or due to neglect, corresponding with findings from Finkelhor & Baron (1986). However, at this time, it remains to be seen how perceived parental rejection in the form of neglect might be connected with CSA, and whether risk factors increase with perceived parental rejection during early school age. Moreover, since poverty has been found to be a strong predictor of substantiated child maltreatment (Lee & Goerge, 1999), further research should investigate levels of perceived parental acceptance-rejection associated with poverty and possible corresponding risk factors for CSA in early school age and later stages of development.

Gaps and inconsistencies


While myriad factors put children at risk for CSA, Boney-McCoy and Finkelhor (1996) suggest that “the environmental factor most commonly proposed as a putative cause for both victimization and symptomatology is the family environment, particularly the quality of the parent-child relationship” (p. 1407). Additionally, data shows that adults and children who experienced CSA come from families with more impaired relationships than do nonabused individuals (e.g., Fromuth, 1986; Harter et al., 1988; Paradise et al., 1994; as cited in Boney-McCoy & Finkelhor, 1996). However, the role and significance of parental-acceptance in such impaired relationships has not been studied. It remains to be determined if and how parental-acceptance correlates to CSA.

PARTheory provides years of empirically based research and a host of testing measures that can be used to measure and evaluate the quality of the parent-child relationship in terms of perceived parental acceptance-rejection. Since early school age is the first of the life stages when CSA is most likely to occur, researchers studying such connections between PARTheory and CSA should focus their research on families with children in the early school age (or perhaps toddlerhood) stage of development and follow these families and their children through early adolescence. Factors to be considered include designing research instruments that would test for correlations between CSA and perceived parental acceptance-rejection, and conducting a research project for three to four life stages (toddlerhood/early school age through early adolescence).

Currently, the Center for the Study of Parental Acceptance and Rejection, directed by Ronald Rohner, has numerous ongoing research activities and applications that support the center’s mission. However, no research activity directly relates to the issues proposed in this review. One of the Center’s three guiding missions is “To conduct and promote basic and applied research on issues surrounding interpersonal acceptance-rejection, with special emphasis on the form of parent-child relationship called parental acceptance-rejection” (http://www.cspar.uconn.edu/). In addition, the Center focuses on the following social problems related to this review: child and adult mental health; child welfare, including custody, parent education, foster care, and adoption; and healthy child development http://www.cspar.uconn.edu/). Accordingly, it follows that an investigation into relationships between PARTheory and CSA in early school age development would fall under the scope of the Center’s mission and focus, and that those interested in this research topic would contact the Center for more information.

Conclusions


Because CSA is hidden by its very nature, it is difficult to determine how widespread it actually is. In fact, it is thought that 90% of child abuse cases go unreported (Sanderson, 2004). Even if CSA is not on the rise, but is being detected and reported more frequently as a result of increased awareness and improved child protection services, it remains a global problem. While the explicit goal of this review has been to demonstrate the need for research exploring possible correlations between PARTheory and CSA, the implicit goal is that knowledge gained from such research would lead to practical applications and solutions aimed at preventing CSA in the future.

Along these lines, Rohner, Khaleque, & Cournoyer (n.d) have derived basic principles of parenting from PARTheory, principles such as helping parents and other caregivers communicate love to their children, helping parents find culturally appropriate ways to communicate warmth and affection, and helping parents avoid behaviors that induce children to feel rejected. Likewise, many institutions, such as the American Academy of Family Physicians, recognize common features of successful child abuse prevention programs, including treating parents as vital contributors to their children’s development and enhancing parents’ capability to foster the optimal development of their children and themselves (Bethea, 1999). While these features are commonly recognized, finding correlations between parental acceptance-rejection and CSA would provide organizations with the kind of research data needed to secure and increase funding and support on many levels for programs of prevention, intervention, and treatment.







References

Bethea, L. (1999). Primary Prevention of Child Abuse. American Family Physician, 59, 1-13.

Black, M. (2000). The roots of child neglect. In R.M. Reece (Ed.), Treatment of child
abuse: Common mental health, medical, and legal practitioners. Baltimore, MD:
Johns Hopkins University Press.

Boney-MCCoy, S., & Finkelhor, D. (1996). Is youth victimization related to trauma
symptoms and depression after controlling for prior symptoms and family
relationships? A longitudinal, prospective study. Journal of Consulting and
Clinical Psychology, 64, 1406-1416.

Finkelhor, D., & Asdigian, N. (1996). Risk factors for youth victimization: Beyond a
lifestyles theoretical approach. Violence and Victims, 11, 3-20.

Finkelhor, D., & Baron, L. (1986). High-risk children. In D. Finkelhor (Ed.), A
sourcebook on child sexual abuse (pp. 60-88). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

Finkelhor, D., Moore, D., Hamby, S., & Straus, M. (1997). Sexually abused children in a
national survey of parents: Methodological issues. Child Abuse & Neglect, 21, 1-
9.

Fleming, J., Mullen, P., & Bammer, G. (1997). A study of potential risk factors for
sexual abuse in childhood. Child Abuse & Neglect, 21, 49-58.

Kistner, J.A., Ziegert, D.I., Castro, R., & Robertson, B., (2001). Helplessness in early
childhood: Prediction of symptoms associated with depression and negative self-
worth. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 47, 336-354.

Lee, B., & Goerge, R. (1999). Poverty, early childbearing, and child maltreatment: A
multinomial analysis. Child and Youth Services Review, 21, 755-780.

National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information. (2004). Risk and
protective factors for child abuse and neglect. Retrieved October 5, 2005, from
http://nccanch.acf.hhs.gov

Newman, B., & Newman, P. (2006). Development through life: A psychosocial
approach. Belmont, CA: Thomson Higher Education.

Rohner, R. (n.d.). Parental acceptance-rejection theory. Retrieved November 5, 2005,
from National Council on Family Relations Web Site: www.ncfr.org/pdf/
rohner.pdf

Rohner, R., (2004). The parental “acceptance-rejection syndrome”: Universal correlates
of perceived rejection. American Psychologist, 59, 830-840.

Rohner, R., & Khaleque, A. (2002). Parental acceptance-rejection and life-span
development: A universal perspective. In Lonner, W., Dinnel, D., Hayes, S., &
Sattler D. (Eds.), Online readings in psychology and culture (Unit 11, Chapter
4). Retrieved November 3, 2005, from http://www.wwu.edu/~culture

Rohner, R., Khaleque, A., & Cournoyer, D., (n.d.). Parental acceptance-rejection theory,
methods, evidence, and implications. Retrieved September 21, 2005, from
http://www.cspar.uconn.edu/

Sanderson, C. (2004). The seduction of children: Empowering parents and teachers to
protect children from child sexual abuse. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Sedlak, A., & Broadhurst, D. (1996). Executive summary of the third national incidence
study of child abuse and neglect. Retrieved October 18, 2005, from National
Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information Web Site:
http://nccanch.acf.hhs.gov/pubs/statsinfo/nis3.cfm

Smith, P., Bowers, L., Binney, V., & Cowie, H. (1993). Relationships of children
involved in bully/victim problems at school. In S. Duck (Ed.), Learning about
relationships (pp. 184-205). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Tomison, A. (1996). Discussion paper number 3 Summer 1996: Child maltreatment and
mental disorder. Retrieved October 5, 2005, from National Child Protection
Clearinghouse Web Site: http://www.aifs.gov.au/nch/discussion3.html


Appendix
Common Risk Factors for Child Abuse and Neglect*
Table A

Child Risk Factors
Premature birth, birth anomalies, low birth weight, exposure to toxins in utero
Temperament: difficult or slow to warm up
Physical/cognitive/emotional disability, chronic or serious illness
Childhood trauma
Anti-social peer group
Age
Child aggression, behavior problems, attention deficits

Parental/Family Risk Factors
Personality Factors
External locus of control
Poor impulse control
Depression/anxiety
Low tolerance for frustration
Feelings of insecurity
Lack of trust
Insecure attachment with own parents
Childhood history of abuse
High parental conflict, domestic violence
Family structure – single parent with lack of support, high number of children in household
Social isolation, lack of support
Parental psychopathology
Substance abuse
Separation/divorce, especially high conflict divorce
Age
High general stress level
Poor parent-child interaction, negative attitudes and attributions about child's behavior
Inaccurate knowledge and expectations about child development

Social/Environmental Risk Factors
Low socioeconomic status
Stressful life events
Lack of access to medical care, health insurance, adequate child care, and social
services
Parental unemployment; homelessness
Social isolation/lack of social support
Exposure to racism/discrimination
Poor schools
Exposure to environmental toxins
Dangerous/violent neighborhood
Community violence

*Please note that this is not an all-inclusive or exhaustive list. These factors do not imply causality and should not be interpreted as such.

From National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information. (2004). Risk and protective factors for child abuse and neglect. Retrieved October 5, 2005, from http://nccanch.acf.hhs.gov


Footnotes


¹ The Endangered Standard includes the number of children who meet the Harm Standard plus children who were not yet harmed by maltreatment but were considered by non-CPS sentinel to be endangered by maltreatment or if their maltreatment was substantiated or indicated in a CPS investigation.