Abstract
This study examined the associations of interpersonal conflict and school connectedness with depressive symptoms in Chinese adolescents. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 6576 adolescents in Shenzhen, China. Participants completed a battery of questionnaires that assessed adolescents’ depressive symptoms, conflict with parents, teachers, and peers, school connectedness, and demographics. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to explore the association of interpersonal conflict and school connectedness with depressive symptoms in adolescents. Results showed that conflicts with their mother, father, teachers, and peers were associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms in adolescents, while greater school connectedness was related to lower levels of depressive symptoms in adolescents. Gender proved to be a moderator of these relationships in that the associations of quarreling with mothers, mothers’ use of emotional punishments, teachers’ use of emotional punishments, and school connectedness with depressive symptoms were stronger in females than males. Moreover, grade level proved to be another moderator, with the associations of teachers’ use of physical punishment and fighting with peers with depressive symptoms being stronger in primary school students than in secondary school students. Our findings suggest that gender and grade level moderated the association of interpersonal conflict and school connectedness with depressive symptoms in Chinese adolescents.
Highlights
Depression is a common mental health condition with the probability of onset increasing markedly with puberty compared with childhood [1]
A significant interaction effect between fighting with peers and grade level upon depressive symptoms in adolescents was observed, with the absolute value of β being larger among students in primary school than secondary school. This current study aimed to assess the associations of interpersonal conflict and school connectedness with depressive symptoms among Chinese adolescents
Our study found that all three types of mother-adolescent conflict and father-adolescent conflict were related to greater depressive symptoms in Chinese adolescents
Summary
Depression is a common mental health condition with the probability of onset increasing markedly with puberty compared with childhood [1]. Epidemiology studies have indicated that adolescents with higher levels of depressive symptoms tend to encounter increased risk of adverse events such as poor academic performance [2], higher levels of substance use [3], and higher levels of suicide [4]. A cost-of-illness study showed that depression in adolescents can cause tremendous. Res. Public Health 2019, 16, 2182; doi:10.3390/ijerph16122182 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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