parental rejection

persistent denial of approval, affection, or care of a child by one or both parents, sometimes concealed beneath a cover of overindulgence or overprotection. The frequent results are corrosion of the child’s self-esteem and self-confidence, a poor self-image, inability to form attachments to others, tantrums, generalized hostility, and development of psychophysical and emotional disturbances. See child neglect.

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Psychology term of the day

November 18th 2024

recessive allele

the version of a gene (see allele) whose effects are manifest only if it is carried on both members of a homologous pair of chromosomes. Hence, the trait determined by a recessive allele (the recessive trait) is apparent only in the absence of another version of that same gene (the dominant allele). The term autosomal recessive is used to describe patterns of inheritance in which characteristics are conveyed by recessive alleles. For example, Tay–Sachs disease is an autosomal recessive disorder.