The Mediating Effect of Autonomy in the Relationship Between Children's Perceived Parental Achievement Pressure and Depression

Objectives This study aimed to verify the mediating effect of autonomy in the effect of parental achievement pressure perceived by children on depression. Methods To this end, data from the 14th Korean Children's Panel Survey (2021) was used to analyze data from 1,328 people born in 2008. Data were analyzed using SPSS 23.0 to perform reliability analysis, descriptive statistics, and correlation analysis, and hierarchical regression analysis was performed to verify the mediating effect and Sobel Test was performed to verify statistical significance. Results First, parental achievement pressure perceived by children was found to have a significant positive effect on children's depression. Second, parental achievement pressure perceived by children was found to have a negative effect on autonomy. Third, children's autonomy was found to have a negative effect on depression. Fourth, autonomy was found to mediate the relationship between parental achievement pressure and children's depression. Conclusions The results of this study clearly reveal the major variables that affect children's depression, and thus it is necessary to develop and implement education and counseling programs related to parental achievement pressure and autonomy for children experiencing depression.