Parent-Child Separation, Communication and the Developmental Trajectory of Depressive Symptoms in Chinese Adolescents

Parent‒child separation as a result of parental migration is often associated with an increased risk of depressive symptoms in adolescents. However, little is known about how parent‒child separation affects changes in the development of depressive symptoms, particularly the protective factors (e.g., parent‒child communication) that influence this process. This 5-wave longitudinal study explored the effects of parent‒child separation, communication and their interactions on the trajectory of depressive symptoms in adolescents. The participants were 2725 Chinese adolescents (M_age = 13.47 years; SD = 0.50; 43.3% girls), of whom 696 were separated from both parents, 684 were separated from their fathers, and 1345 were not separated from their parents. Depressive symptoms were measured approximately every 6 months in grades 7 through 9, and other variables were measured at the first time point. The results revealed that adolescents' depressive symptoms increased and the rate of increase gradually slowed throughout junior high school. Separation from both parents was associated with increased levels of depressive symptoms but did not influence changes in adolescents' depressive symptoms over time, and separation from father did not influence the trajectory of adolescents' depressive symptoms. Parent-child communication was negatively associated with the levels of depressive symptoms. Separation from both parents was associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms among girls with a lower level of father‒child communication but not among girls with a higher level of father‒child communication. Separation from father was associated with a faster increase in depressive symptoms among boys with lower levels of father‒child and mother‒child communication but not among boys with higher levels of father‒child and mother‒child communication. These findings indicate that parent‒child communication can alleviate the negative effects of parent‒child separation on the development of depressive symptoms in adolescents, and the effects vary across separation status and gender.