There's a real "parent-child relationship" that will almost always exist, at some level (if only subconsciously), for everyone - some may call it "looking up to a role-model" and some may not even realize, consciously, that they're framing someone else in that manner.

Of course, the actual parent-child relationship is what really impresses one's mind. A lack of compassion from one's own mother, or legal guardian, is almost a sure way of leading to psychological suffering in that child, which will continue to manifest until the moment that it's met with adequate compassion (either from within or from outside). And a continued display of lacking compassion from other authority figures, such as school teachers, will only compound those problems.