Parental stressful life events predict young-adult internalizing through parent-adolescent relationship quality

Previous research suggests that increased parental stressful life events are associated with increased risks for children's internalizing symptoms. Despite the strong support for this model, limited prior work has explored the mechanism underlying this association. The purpose of this study was to investigate the longitudinal relationships between the history of maternal and paternal stressful life events experienced during adolescence, parent-child relationship quality, and internalizing symptoms in young adulthood. Participants for the present study included 923 adolescents (T1: M_age = 17.0, T2: M_age = 23.3, 50.8% identified as female) and their parents from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. Maternal- and paternal-specific structural equation models were conducted to examine the relationship between parental stressful life events in middle adolescence and internalizing symptoms in young adulthood through parent-child relationship quality while controlling for key covariates. Father-reported stressful life events during the previous year were associated with less positive father-reported father-child relationship quality during adolescence, which was associated with an increased risk for internalizing symptoms in young adulthood. Mother-reported stressful life events did not predict mother-child relationship quality in adolescence. However, mother-child relationship quality in adolescence was associated with young adult internalizing symptoms. The indirect effects linking stressful life events to internalizing symptoms through parent-child relationship quality were not significant for either mothers or fathers. These results highlight the significance of paternal stressful life events for parent-child relationship quality and the importance of father-inclusive parenting interventions that could address these dynamics. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).