The Effect of Parenting Style on Depression: The Mediating Role of Life History Strategies

Abstract

In China, youth refer to under the age of 16. During adolescence, children's psychological problems are the focus of attention. Based on Bronfenbrenner's bioecology theory and life history theory, this study examined the relationship between parenting styles and depression, in which life history is a mediator. Based on ecosystem theory and life history theory, this paper examines the influence of parenting style on junior middle school students' depression and its mechanism. A total of 551 primary school students were investigated by using parenting style rating scale, depression scale and MINI-K scale. Data analyses were performed using SPSS 24.0. The results showed that: (1) Parents' positive parenting style negatively predicted depression, and parents' negative parenting style positively predicted depression; (2) Life history strategy played a mediating role between parenting style and depression. The results not only revealed the relationship between parenting style and depression of junior high school students, but also revealed its mechanism, which had certain reference value for improving the mental health of junior high school students. Results of this study indicate the negative influence of parents' negative parenting style on middle school students' emotional adjustment and the mediating role of life history strategies. Taken together, these findings suggest that parenting style is a proximal factor for depression and that future interventions should focus on parent-adolescent interactions.