Early parent-child separation and adolescent depressive symptoms: the mediating role of self-perceived pleasure in social interactions

Abstract

Background

Depressive symptoms are highly prevalent among adolescents with a history of parent-child separation. This study investigates whether self-perceived pleasure in social interactions mediates the relationship between early parent-child separation and depressive symptoms among Chinese adolescents.

Methods

1250 teenagers (mean age = 12.95 years, SD = 1.55; 54.6% male) completed self-report surveys assessing early parent-child separation, self-perceived pleasure in social interactions, and depressive symptoms. Mediation analysis was conducted using the bootstrap method.

Results

Early parent-child separation increased the risk for depressive symptoms in adolescents by 1.743 times (95% CI, 1.348–2.253). Self-perceived pleasure in social interaction partially mediated the association between early parent-child separation and adolescent depressive symptoms, after adjusting for age and gender ( β = 0.095; 95%CI, 0.032–0.168). The mediating effect was significant and accounted for 19.87% of the total effect.

Conclusions

This study highlights the impact of self-perceived pleasure from social interactions on adolescent depressive symptoms. Improving perceived pleasure from social interactions may help reduce the negative effects of parent-child separation on depressive symptoms.