The relationship between parental depression and child internalizing and externalizing problems: The roles of parenting stress and child maltreatment

INTRODUCTION: Although the relationships between parental mental health and child internalizing and externalizing problems have been explored by previous studies, the pathways between these two variables need further exploration. The present study aims to explore the relationships between parental depression and child internalizing and externalizing problems and to examine the roles of parenting stress and child maltreatment in those relationships within the Chinese cultural context. METHOD: Data were collected from 855 Chinese families with preschool-aged children, and mediation analysis was used to examine the pathways between these variables. RESULTS: The results show that parental depression is positively associated with child internalizing and externalizing problems, and child maltreatment and the combination of parenting stress and child maltreatment mediated the relationships between parental depression and child internalizing and externalizing problems, respectively. These findings suggest that parental depression not only has a direct effect on child internalizing and externalizing problems but also has an indirect effect via parenting stress and child maltreatment. DISCUSSION: Decreasing the levels of parenting stress and child maltreatment should be applied in interventions to break the relationships between parental depression and child internalizing and externalizing problems within the Chinese cultural context.