Perceived parenting styles and incidence of major depressive disorder: results from a 6985 freshmen cohort study

BACKGROUND: Even though a fair amount of studies focus on depression among college students, the effect of perceived parenting styles on the incidence of major depressive disorder (MDD) among representative freshmen in Chinese context is scarcely studied. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of parenting styles on MDD in Chinese freshmen. METHODS: A total of 9,928 Chinese freshmen were recruited in 2018. 6985 valid questionnaires were collected at one-year follow-up. Composite International Diagnostic Interview 3.0 (CIDI-3.0) was used for the diagnosis of MDD. Egna Minnen Beträffande Uppfostran (EMBU) questionnaire and Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) were used to assess parenting styles and baseline depressive symptoms, respectively. The associations between parenting styles and MDD incidence was analyzed with logistic regression. RESULTS: The incidence of MDD in freshmen was 2.23% (95%CI: 1.91-2.60%). Maternal overprotection (OR = 1.03, 95%CI: 1.01–1.05) and disharmony relationship between parents (OR = 2.35, 95% CI: 1.42–3.89) increased the risk of new-onset MDD in freshmen, respectively. Mild depressive symptoms (OR = 2.06, 95%CI: 1.06–4.02), moderate (OR = 4.64, 95%CI: 2.55–8.44) and severe depressive symptoms (OR = 7.46, 95%CI: 2.71–20.52) at baseline increased the risk of new-onset MDD. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal overprotection, disharmony relationship between parents and baseline depressive symptoms are risk factors for new-onset MDD in Chinese freshmen. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12888-023-04712-0.