The impact of parental involvement on adolescent depression: a chain mediation effect based on emotional interaction and parent–child trust

Introduction: Adolescent mental health problems have attracted growing attention in contemporary China. In a context where parents are often highly involved in their children's education, it is particularly important to understand how parental involvement is associated with adolescent depression through everyday relational processes within the family. This study examined whether emotional interaction and parent-child trust mediate this association. Methods: Data were drawn from the 2022 wave of the China Family Panel Studies. After excluding cases with missing values, the final sample included 1,414 adolescents aged 10-15 years. Structural equation modeling and bootstrap mediation analysis were used to estimate the chain mediation effect of parental involvement on adolescent depression. Results: Parental involvement was significantly associated with lower adolescent depression, but this association was fully mediated, with no significant direct effect after the mediators were included. The chain mediation pathway of "Parental involvement → Positive emotional interaction → Parent-child trust → Adolescent depression" was significant. Negative emotional interaction did not mediate this association, but it was associated with lower parent-child trust and higher adolescent depression. In addition, parent-child trust showed a significant independent mediating effect between parental involvement and adolescent depression. Discussion: The findings suggest that the association between parental involvement and adolescent depression operates mainly through relational processes within the family. Positive emotional interaction and parent-child trust appear to be key mechanisms in this association. Family-based interventions should therefore pay greater attention to relationship quality, emotional communication, and trust within the parent-child relationship.