Negative Experiences in Childhood, Parental Style, and Resilience Among People Reporting Paranormal Experiences.
Alejandro Parra
The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease April 1, 2019 DOI: 10.1097/nmd.0000000000000955 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational survey Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 644 |
| Population | Adults who reported paranormal experiences or beliefs |
| Keywords | Humans Hallucinations Spiritual therapies Parenting Telepathy Adolescent Middle aged Argentina Female Resilience, psychological Young adult Psychological trauma Adverse childhood experiences |
| Key findings | Paranormal experiences in adult life showed a positive and significant correlation with negative childhood experiences such as abuse and neglect, confirming the authors' three hypotheses. The authors propose that a "flexible" parental style, marked by openness to alternative realities, contrasts with a "rigid" style that restricts children from capitalizing on unconventional experiences. |
Abstract
There are relatively few studies examining the parental style, childhood trauma, and paranormal experiences/beliefs; therefore, the aim of this study is to measure the dominant parental style of those who have experienced paranormal events and their correlation with negative events in childhood and resilience. Four questionnaires were administered to 644 participants. The results showed high frequency of experiences such as sense of presence, premonitory dreams, telepathy, mystical experiences, apparitions, and out-of-body experiences, among others. The results confirmed three hypotheses that predict a positive and significant correlation between the paranormal experiences in adult life and negative experiences in childhood, such as abuse and neglect. One possible interpretation is that "flexible" parental style is the more permissive ones (greater openness and sensitivity to capture alternative realities), in contrast to "rigid" parental style (whose perspectives generate restrictions to capitalize on the unconventional experiences of their children).