Links Between Adolescents’ and Parents’ Depressive Symptoms in Mexican-origin Families

abstract: The present study examined associations between depressive symptoms among mothers, fathers, and adolescents and considered whether different associations emerged by parent and adolescent gender. In addition, the combination of maternal and paternal depressive symptoms was examined in relation to adolescents’ depressive symptoms. Participants were 246 families of Mexican-origin in two-parent households who resided in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Data were collected during home interviews at Time 1 and phone calls with adolescents at Time 2. Findings revealed concurrent bivariate associations between adolescents’ and mothers’ and fathers’ depressive symptoms. Further, mothers’ depressive symptoms predicted increases in adolescents’ symptoms two years later. However, there were no significant gender differences, and the combination of mothers’ and fathers’ depressive symptoms did not predict adolescents’ depressive symptoms. These findings contribute to understanding the interrelations between Mexican-origin mothers’, fathers’, and adolescents’ depressive symptoms. (abstract