Unravelling the Family Curse: How Parental Depressive Symptoms Link To Adolescents' Depressive Symptoms Through Interparental Conflict and Adolescent Triangulation

Abstract

What mechanisms underlie the relationship between parental depressive symptoms and adolescents' depressive symptoms? To address this question, this study aimed to investigate a multi-informant process model in which both maternal and paternal depressive symptoms predict adolescents' depressive symptoms through interparental conflict and adolescent triangulation in these conflicts. The sample comprised 714 participants, including 238 mothers (Mage = 44.68, SD = 5.58; age range: 29 to 59 years), 238 fathers (Mage = 48.04, SD = 5.74; age range: 33 to 64 years), and 238 adolescents (Mage = 15.71, SD = 2.04; age range: 11 to 18 years; 50.8% of them were female). Measures included the O'Leary-Porter Scale, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale, and the Children's Perception of Interparental Conflict Scale. Path analysis revealed that maternal reports of interparental conflict and adolescent-reported triangulation mediated the relationship between both maternal and paternal depressive symptoms and adolescents' depressive symptoms. Additionally, paternal reports of interparental conflict and adolescent-reported triangulation mediated the relationship between paternal depressive symptoms and adolescents' depressive symptoms. These findings were interpreted within the framework of family systems theory.