Parental Love and Well-Being of Young Adults: the Mediating Role of Optimism

No previous studies have so far explicitly investigated the dynamic of parental love and children’s well-being in relation to optimism. The present study tested whether parental love had an impact on children’s well-being through optimism. To test the prediction, we administered a questionnaire package comprising the adult versions (short forms) of the Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire for Fathers and Mothers, (2) Life Orientation Test-Revised, (3) Satisfaction with Life Scale, (4) Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, and (5) the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form and a Personal Information Form to a convenience sample of 300 students of Dhaka University. Participants’ mean age was 21.8 years and was between the ages of 18 through 25 years. Independent sample t -tests revealed significant gender differences in most of the key variables in the study. Results of Pearson product-moment correlations showed that the men who perceived their mothers and fathers as more loving (accepting) were more optimistic and mentally healthy compared to other groups. Similarly, the women who perceived their mothers (but not fathers) as more loving were optimistic and mentally healthy compared to others groups. Results of simultaneous multiple regression analysis revealed that maternal love affected the well-being of both men and women partially through optimism. Unlike maternal love, paternal love affected the well-being of only men.