Abstract
Positive parent-adolescent communication has been found to be negatively related to adolescent depressive symptoms; however, few studies have investigated the moderating effects of adolescent gender and age on this relationship, especially during early adolescence in China. The present study investigated the joint moderating effects of adolescent gender and age on the linkage of father-adolescent and mother-adolescent communication with adolescents’ depressive symptoms. A total of 11,455 Chinese junior high school students (Mage = 14.15 years, SD = 1.22 years; 49.86% boys; Ngrade7 = 5712, Ngrade9 = 5743) completed ad hoc questionnaires of parent-adolescent communication and depressive symptoms. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted. Results indicated that gender and age jointly moderated the association between parental communication and adolescent depressive symptoms. Specifically, for girls, the negative effects of both father-adolescent and mother-adolescent communication on depressive symptoms were stronger in 9th grade students than in 7th grade students, while for boys, the negative effects were not different between 7th grade students and 9th grade students. These findings suggest that in China, the protective effects of positive parent-adolescent communication on adolescents’ depressive symptoms may be most salient among senior-grade girls in junior high school.
Highlights
Depression is a serious mental health problem that has a detrimental effect on adolescents’ psychosocial functioning (Rawana and Morgan, 2014; Alaie et al, 2021)
Our findings indicated that the quality of both father-adolescent and mother-adolescent communication was lower, while the level of adolescent depressive symptoms was higher among 9th grade students compared to 7th grade students
For girls, the negative effects of both father-adolescent and motheradolescent communication on depressive symptoms were stronger in 9th grade students than in 7th grade students, while for boys, the negative effects did not differ between 7th grade students and 9th grade students
Summary
Depression is a serious mental health problem that has a detrimental effect on adolescents’ psychosocial functioning (Rawana and Morgan, 2014; Alaie et al, 2021). According to the 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 13.3% of adolescents aged between 12 and 17 suffered a major depressive episode in the United States in 2017 (National Institute of Mental Health, 2019). A meta-analysis indicated that the prevalence of depressive symptoms among adolescents in secondary schools in mainland China was 24.3% (Tang et al, 2019). As depressive symptoms have severe and adverse consequences on early adolescents’ psychosocial adjustment in China, it is essential to identify protective factors to inform the development of intervention and prevention efforts. Cicchetti and Rogosch (2002) suggested that we should consider depressive symptoms among early adolescents in dynamic relation between individual and internal and external contexts As depressive symptoms have severe and adverse consequences on early adolescents’ psychosocial adjustment in China, it is essential to identify protective factors to inform the development of intervention and prevention efforts. Cicchetti and Rogosch (2002) suggested that we should consider depressive symptoms among early adolescents in dynamic relation between individual and internal and external contexts
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