Dramaturgical perspective mediates the association between parenting by lying in childhood and adolescent depression and the protective role of parent-child attachment

Abstract

BackgroundRecent findings reveal that individuals who experience parenting by lying in childhood may exhibit depression through adulthood. Questions remain regarding the cognitive mechanism underlying this association and whether depression manifests as early as adolescence. ObjectiveOur current study used a survey to test the associations among parenting by lying in childhood, adolescent depression, dramaturgical perspective, and parent-child attachment. Participants and settingAdolescents (n = 964, Mage = 13.62, SDage = 1.04) were recruited from five secondary schools in a city in central China. A total of 446 (46.3 %) boys and 518 (53.7 %) girls participated in the survey. MethodsWe used questionnaires to measure parenting by lying, dramaturgical perspective, parent-child attachment and depression. ResultsA bias-corrected bootstrapping mediation test indicated that the process by which parenting by lying predicted depression through a dramaturgical perspective was significant,ab = .06, SE = .01, 95 % CI = [.027, .089]. Moderation analysis indicated that the interaction between parenting by lying and parent-child attachment was associated with depression (B = - .05, p < .05). ConclusionsParenting by lying in childhood was found to be positively associated with adolescent depression. The association was mediated by the child’s use of a dramaturgical perspective and moderated by parent-child attachment. This study highlights an intriguing but under-researched parenting practice and extends our understanding of its association with adolescent depression. In practice, strengthening parent-child attachment can weaken the association between parenting by lying and depression.