The Influence of Parent–Child Discrepancies in Filial Piety on Depressive Symptoms in Chinese Parents With Preadolescent Children

Filial piety has been shown to have a strong effect on the well-being of parents, but the findings have been inconsistent. This study aimed to clarify the mixed results by considering the role of parent-child discrepancies in filial piety. Specifically, we examined how congruence and incongruence in filial piety between parents and children are related to parental depressive symptoms. Data were obtained from 3922 eleven-year-old students and their fathers and mothers. Polynomial regression with response surface analysis was used to analyze the effects of parent-child discrepancies on depressive symptoms separately for reciprocal and authoritarian filial piety and separately for the four parent-child gender dyads. Approximately one-third of parents had congruent filial piety with their children, one-third had higher filial piety than their children did, and one-third had lower filial piety. When parent-child filial piety was congruent, greater reciprocal filial piety was associated with fewer parental depressive symptoms, while higher authoritarian filial piety was associated with more parental depressive symptoms. Moreover, parents with higher authoritarian filial piety than their children had more depressive symptoms than those with lower authoritarian filial piety. In addition, greater incongruence in authoritarian filial piety was associated with more parental depressive symptoms. The findings suggest that the type of filial piety, the level of congruent filial piety, and the direction and degree of incongruent filial piety between parents and children all influence parental depressive symptoms. The findings suggest focusing on the psychological needs of parents and reducing conflicts in filial relationships.