The Role of Family Environments in Parent-Adolescent Discrepancies in Adolescents' Depressive Symptoms

Depression is one of the most prevalent mental health problems in adolescence. Due to the covert nature of depressive symptoms, parents play an important role in recognizing distress and seeking intervention for their child. However, research often reports discrepancies between parent and adolescent reports of depressive symptoms, and integrating and interpreting these discrepancies remains a challenge. The present study used a trifactor model to isolate sources of variance stemming from shared and unique perspectives in a sample of 583 parent-adolescent dyads (59% male; M_age= 14.22, SD = 1.81). Consensus between parents and adolescents was characterized by feelings of sadness, whereas unique views of adolescent depressive symptoms highlighted somatic symptoms (e.g., overtiredness), with adolescents generally reporting more symptoms. Adolescents' attachment security and family affective responsiveness were associated with lower depressive symptoms reported by adolescents, whereas parents' reports of problem-solving skills were associated with lower depressive symptoms reported by parents. These findings emphasize the importance of considering the degree of parent-adolescent agreement regarding adolescent mental health and educating parents to raise awareness of their adolescents' mental health, which could facilitate early detection and intervention. Furthermore, prevention and intervention efforts should target promoting family functioning through open and affective communication.