A cross-cultural examination of the link between parenting and adolescent depression and misconduct (United States, Taiwan, China)

This study examined the relationship between parenting features (relational & behavioral parenting) on adolescent adjustment (depression & misconduct). Relational parenting, which is reflected in measures of family cohesion, family conflict, parental warmth/acceptance, and conflict with parents represents parenting that is sensitive to the interpersonal dynamics of the parent-adolescent relationship. Behavioral parenting, which is reflected in measures of decision-making control and monitoring (or supervision), represents parenting that is responsive to the enforcement of structure and control. This distinction in the two parenting features parallels the distinction between affective and behavioral components of parenting that has been articulated in the parenting literature.; Participants were a total of 591 seventh and eighth graders from middle-class families: 114 European Americans, 136 Chinese Americans, 155 Chinese in Taipei, Taiwan, and 186 Chinese in Beijing, China. As predicted, relational parenting contributed to the prediction of depression above and beyond the effects of behavioral parenting. Correspondingly, behavioral parenting contributed to the prediction of misconduct above and beyond the effects of relational parenting. Specifically, family cohesion, parental warmth/acceptance and parental monitoring serve a protective function against depression while conflict with parents is a risk factor for depression. Additionally, parental monitoring is a protective factor against adolescent misconduct while family conflict and conflict with parents are risk factors for misconduct.; Informal comparisons of the relative contribution of relational and behavioral parenting to the prediction of adjustment indicates that relational parenting is a stronger predictor of both depression and misconduct compared to behavioral parenting, illustrating the relative importance of the affective component of parenting. Depression appears more predictable than misconduct by the parenting variables examined and may be a more sensitive index of adolescent adjustment than misconduct. Cross-cultural similarities and differences in the salience of the various parenting variables to the contribution of adolescent adjustment are discussed. There is a trend indication that the parenting variables examined are better predictors of depression and misconduct for the European and Chinese American groups than the Taipei and Beijing Chinese groups. When the variance from parenting features is statistically controlled, depression and misconduct are no longer related, suggesting that the comorbidity of depression and misconduct is associated through their joint links with parenting.