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. 2024 Apr 4;14(4):297.
doi: 10.3390/bs14040297.

How Coparenting Is Linked to Depression among Chinese Young Girls and Boys: Evidence from a Network Analysis

Demao Zhao  1 , Xin Gao  1 , Wei Chen  2 , Quan Zhou  3
Affiliations

How Coparenting Is Linked to Depression among Chinese Young Girls and Boys: Evidence from a Network Analysis

Demao Zhao et al. Behav Sci (Basel). .

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the relationship between parental coparenting and depression among Chinese young adolescents and potential gender differences via network analysis. Thus, 793 fourth-grade students (girls: 281 (35.40%), Mage = 9.99 years, SD = 0.59 years) were recruited from three primary schools in Northern China. The young adolescents rated their depression and perceived paternal and maternal coparenting. Network analysis was used to detect the central nodes and bridge mechanisms among coparenting and depressive components. The results indicated that paternal and maternal consistency as well as maternal conflict were the most central components in the coparenting-depression network. Paternal consistency, maternal conflict and paternal disparagement in coparenting, as well as somatic complaints and positive affect in adolescents' depression, exhibited high bridge strengths, suggesting those constructs served as vital bridges to connect the two subnetworks. Moreover, paternal consistency showed a higher bridge strength in the boys' network than the girls' one, whereas the edge linking adolescents' positive affect to paternal disparagement and integrity was stronger in the girls' network. This study contributes to the understanding of associations between parental coparenting and young adolescents' depression and offered insights into targeted interventions for early adolescent depression by enhancing parental coparenting.

Keywords: coparenting; depression; network analysis; young adolescents.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Network of coparenting and adolescent depression symptoms in the total sample (N = 793). Note. Nodes represent paternal and maternal coparenting and adolescents’ depression symptoms items; edges represent partial correlations between symptoms. Edge thickness indicates the strength of the partial correlations and edge color indicates the correlation valence (blue = positive, red = negative). Symptoms are shown in the same color (yellow = adolescent depression symptoms; sky-blue = maternal coparenting; green = paternal coparenting).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Strength and bridge strength of the network (N = 793). Note. Red (large) dots denote the most central symptoms.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Network of coparenting parenting and adolescent depression symptoms in girls (N = 281) and boys (N = 512). Note. Nodes represent paternal and maternal coparenting and adolescents’ depression symptoms items; edges represent partial correlations between symptoms. Edge thickness indicates the strength of the partial correlations and edge color indicates the correlation valence (blue = positive, red = negative). Symptoms are shown in the same color (yellow = adolescent depression symptoms; sky-blue = maternal coparenting; green = paternal coparenting).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Standardized estimates of centrality for coparenting and adolescent depression symptoms by gender. Note. The red line represents girls, and the blue line represents boys.
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