Parental warmth, parental rejection, and vocational outcome expectations: the mediating roles of conscientiousness and perfectionism.

INTRODUCTION: This study investigated how conscientiousness and perfectionism mediate the relationship between parental warmth and parental rejection and Vocational Outcome Expectations (VOE). METHODS: Data from 729 university students (ages 17-42) were ana lyzed via structural equation modeling. RESULTS: Results showed that perceived parental warmth (both maternal and paternal) positively predicted VOE, with conscien tiousness partially mediating these relationships. While zero-order correlations indicated a negative relationship between parental rejection and VOE, structural models revealed more complex dynamics. Specifically, perfectionism acted as an inconsistent mediator (suppression effect) in the relationship between maternal rejection and VOE, whereas perceived paternal rejection was indirectly associ ated with VOE through perfectionism. DISCUSSION: The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.