Fathers Influence the Child’s Personality More Than Mothers

The scientists from the University of Connecticut (USA) believe that father’s neglect produces the strongest negative experience in a child‘s life, which has a major impact on the development of his/her personality.

Ronald Rohner, director of the Center for the Study of Interpersonal Acceptance and Rejection, and his colleagues have analyzed 36 studies, conducted from 1975 to 2010. 1400 adults and 8600 children from 18 countries participated in the studies. In all the studies, personality characteristics were assessed from the point of view of the popular Parental Acceptance-Rejection Theory, PART. This theory of socialization explains and predicts the influence of parental attention/inattention on the child, which has a tremendous impact on the child’s cognitive and emotional development. The evaluation was based on seven criteria: aggressiveness, independence, positive self-esteem, adequacy of self-perception, emotional responsiveness, emotional stability, and a positive outlook.

Analysis of the survey data showed that fathers have the greatest impact on the development of children, despite the fact that most of them do not have time for the upbringing, and they pay less attention to their offsprings than mothers – because of employment or lack of interest in this process.

Rohner says that in many cultures fathers are at the top of the hierarchical order of the family. They are the head of the family, have a greater impact than mothers and usually have the final word in the process of decision-making in the family. The scientist also notes that due to the fact that mothers spend more time with their children, the errors in upbringing are usually attributed to them. Still, we are to understand that a child is influenced by the intrafamilial behavior of both parents. Rohner said he hoped that the results of the study would help fathers realize their responsibility and show more love and care from the earliest age of their children.