The effects of overparenting on depression, anxiety, and stress in adolescents: moderating effects of school connectedness and gender differences

This study explored the moderating effects of school connectedness on the relationship between overparenting and adolescents’ depression, anxiety, and stress, as well as gender differences of those moderating effects. 3034 adolescents participated in the questionnaire, and the results found that both maternal and paternal overparenting could significantly positively predict adolescents’ depression, anxiety, and stress, and the predictive effect of maternal overparenting was significantly greater than that of paternal overparenting. Moderating analysis showed that peer support could significantly alleviate the effects of maternal overparenting on depression, anxiety, and stress; school belonging could significantly alleviate the effects of paternal overparenting on depression, anxiety, and stress; yet teacher support could significantly exacerbate the effects of paternal overparenting on depression, anxiety, and stress. Moreover, there were gender differences in the moderating effects of school connectedness. This study enriches research in related fields and has guiding and practical significance for family parenting and school teaching.