Parent–child interaction and childrenʹs depression: the relationships between Parent–Child interaction and childrenʹs depressive symptoms in Taiwan

This study examines how perceptions of parenting and family messages are associated with the depressive symptoms of early adolescents (N=454, boys=224; girls=210; age, M=12, s.d.=1.01) from East Taiwan. Results show that higher levels of parental care and low levels of parental indifference were associated with lower depression scores. Moreover, perceptions of positive messages regarding children themselves, their world, and their future were found to negatively associate with depression, whereas negative messages had an opposite effect. Basically, girls’ depressive symptoms were more related to maternal messages, and boys’ were more related to paternal messages.