Rejection Sensitivity among School Children with Working Mothers and Homemaker Mothers

Abstract

Background: Rejection sensitivity is a cognitive-affective disposition characterized by heightened expectations, perceptions, and reactions to interpersonal rejection. Family environment and parental involvement play a significant role in children’s socio-emotional development. Maternal employment status has been proposed as a factor influencing children’s emotional experiences and interpersonal perceptions. Aim: The present study aimed to compare rejection sensitivity among school children with working mothers and homemaker mothers and to examine the influence of gender on rejection sensitivity. Methods: A comparative cross-sectional design was employed. The sample comprised 120 school children, including 60 children of working mothers and 60 children of homemaker mothers. Participants were assessed using the Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, independent samples t-tests, chi-square tests, and a 2 × 2 factorial ANOVA were performed. Results: Children of homemaker mothers (M = 123.33, SD = 50.33) demonstrated slightly higher rejection sensitivity scores than children of working mothers (M = 116.91, SD = 50.19); however, the difference was not statistically significant, t(118) = -0.70, p = .485. Gender differences were also non-significant, t(118) = 0.60, p = .553. Chi-square analysis indicated no significant association between maternal employment status and rejection sensitivity level, χ²(1) = 0.30, p = .582. The 2 × 2 factorial ANOVA revealed no significant main effects of gender, F(1,116) = 0.35, p = .556, maternal employment status, F(1,116) = 0.48, p = .488, or interaction effect, F(1,116) = 0.13, p = .722. Conclusion: Maternal employment status and gender did not significantly influence rejection sensitivity among the school children studied. The findings suggest that factors other than maternal employment status may play a more important role in the development of rejection sensitivity during childhood.