Presenting a Causal Model for Depression in Adolescents Based on the Relationship between Parenting Styles with Mediating the Parent-Adolescence Conflict

 Over the last 20 years, researches have shown that the quality of parental and adolescent communication has a major impact on the development of risk behaviors in adolescent health. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the causal model for depression in adolescents based on the parenting styles with mediating the parent-adolescence conflict.

The sample consisted of 150 first grade high school students selected by a multistage random sampling method.  In this research, the subjects completed The Short-Form of the Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI), Baumrind's Parenting Styles Questionnaire (BPSQ), and Parent-Adolescent Conflict (PAC). The proposed model has been evaluated using structural equation modeling method. The bootstrap tested the indirect relationships.

The results of this study showed that the proposed model had an acceptable fit to the data, and all pathways, have a significant relationship between parenting style (due to parent-adolescent conflict), for depression in young people with the exception of the authoritative parenting style. The results of several indirect paths showed that the relationship between permissive and authoritarian parenting styles (through parent-adolescent conflict) was significant on adolescent depression.

It concludes that the conflict between parents and adolescents can have an impact on children's psychological health.  Therefore, solving family problems and creating an appropriate home environment leads to adolescents 'psychological well - being and improves the proper functioning of the school and community.