Sun Kexin, Zhang Xinting, Li Ping, Cao Cong
School of Nursing and Rehabilitation, Shandong University, Jinan, People's Republic of China.
Department of Pediatrics, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, People's Republic of China.
Psychol Res Behav Manag. 2025 Jun 23;18:1481-1493. doi: 10.2147/PRBM.S519632. eCollection 2025.
Depression is well-known to be transmitted across generations, whereas the focus has often been on mother-child dyads. Little is known about the role of fathers and some inherited temperaments of adolescents, especially in Chinese families. This study is the first to explore the moderated mediation transmission mechanism of depressive symptoms, in which (i) the role of fathers was compared to that of mothers, and (ii) how adolescent perceptual sensitivity worked was particularly elucidated.
A total of 738 Chinese adolescents ( = 12.80 ± 1.58 years; 47.2% girls) who were companied with one of their primary caregivers (mothers or fathers) were recruited, constituting two subsamples of mother-child ( = 508) versus father-child dyads ( = 230), respectively. Path models and the regions of significance approach were used to analyze the moderated mediation mechanisms.
Mothers and fathers both transmitted depressive symptoms to adolescents via their rejection parenting (indirect effect = 0.14, = 0.02, < 0.001). However, adolescent perceptual sensitivity moderated the second half path of this mediation pathway among mother-child dyads ( = 0.09, = 0.04, = 0.011), but not among father-child dyads ( = -0.05, = 0.06, = 0.348), and worked in a manner of diathesis-stress. Adolescent sex did not moderate this transmission mechanism ( = 6.52, = 3, = 0.089).
These findings suggest similarities and differences in the roles of mothers and fathers in the transmission risk of depressive symptoms in contemporary Chinese families, and highlight a diathesis-stress like moderation effect of adolescent perceptual sensitivity.
抑郁症具有代际传递性，这一点广为人知，不过以往研究重点多在母婴二元组。对于父亲的作用以及青少年的某些遗传气质的了解较少，尤其是在华人家庭中。本研究首次探讨抑郁症状的调节中介传递机制，其中：（i）比较父亲与母亲的作用；（ii）特别阐明青少年感知敏感性的作用方式。
共招募了738名华人青少年（平均年龄 = 12.80 ± 1.58岁；47.2%为女孩），他们与一名主要照料者（母亲或父亲）同行，分别构成了母婴二元组（n = 508）和父子二元组（n = 230）两个子样本。采用路径模型和显著性区域方法分析调节中介机制。
母亲和父亲均通过拒绝型养育方式将抑郁症状传递给青少年（间接效应 = 0.14，SE = 0.02，p < 0.001）。然而，青少年感知敏感性调节了母婴二元组中介路径的后半段（β = 0.09，SE = 0.04，p = 0.011），但在父子二元组中未起到调节作用（β = -0.05，SE = 0.06，p = 0.348），其作用方式为素质 - 应激模式。青少年性别并未调节这种传递机制（χ² = 6.52，df = 3，p = 0.089）。
这些发现表明，在当代华人家庭中，母亲和父亲在抑郁症状传递风险方面的作用既有相似之处，也有不同之处，并突出了青少年感知敏感性类似素质 - 应激的调节作用。
