You can have problems accepting compliments but I think you are intelligent. What you say about genétic and up bringing avoidance makes sense to me, but I wouldn't ever think it.

It's familiar to me the fact that you only got the attention from your parents when they want to correct a bad behaviour.
My brother and me were the nicest kids in the world if not, my father looked at is with this terrible sight he had. There is a big difference between fear and respect but some people seem to unknow it.