Parent-adolescent conflict and depression symptoms of adolescents: Mediator role of self-esteem

Abstract

Purpose: The present study examined the direct and indirect relationships between parent-adolescent conflict, self-esteem, and depression symptoms. Method: Participants were 338 (150 male, 188 female) adolescents aged between 14-18 attending public high schools. Participants completed a questionnaire that included measures of parent-adolescent conflict, self-esteem, and depression symptoms. Results: Findings provided evidence of direct effects of parent-adolescent conflict on depression symptoms and indirect effects of mother adolescent conflict on depression symptoms through self-esteem. Specifically, results indicated that mother adolescent conflict were positively and directly related to selfesteem, and indirectly related to depression through self-esteem. Parent-adolescent conflict explained 8% of the variance and together parent-adolescent conflict and self-esteem explained 26% of the variance in depression symptoms. Conclusion: Findings of the present study provided evidence for the negative affect of parent-adolescent conflict on adolescents' mental health. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.