Psychological Development and Education ›› 2025, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (6): 869-880.doi: 10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2025.06.11

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Relationship between Parent-adolescent Discrepancies in Perceived Parental Warmth and Children’s Depressive Symptoms and Aggressive Behavior

ZHENG Tianpeng1, ZHOU Xinran1, LIANG Lichan1,2,3, YUAN Keman1, BIAN Yufang1,2,3   

  1. 1. Collaborative Innovation Center of Assessment toward Basic Education Quality, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875;
    2. Child and Family Education Research Center, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875;
    3. Institute of Mental Health and Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875
  • Published:2025-11-05

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Abstract: The current study aims to examine how congruence and discrepancy perceptions of parental warmth by both parents and children may relate to children’s depressive symptoms and aggressive behavior using response surface analysis. A total of 2194 grade 6 children and their parents were recruited. They were asked to complete the 4 items of parental warmth. And only children were asked to complete the Child Depression Symptoms Scale and the Child Aggressive Behavior Scale. The main results indicated that: (1) When parent-child parental warmth perception was congruent, the higher the level of parental warmth perceived by children and parents, the lower the depressive symptoms and aggressive behavior of children; (2) When parent-child parental warmth perception was discrepant, the greater the difference between parents’ perception and children’s perception (parents’ perception was more positive), the higher the children’s depressive symptoms and aggressive behavior was; (3) In the influence of parent-child perception difference of maternal warmth on children’s depressive symptoms, the congruence and discrepancy of parent-child perception of girls was stronger than that of boys, but this gender difference did not exist in the influence of parent-child perception difference of paternal warmth on children’s depressive symptoms; (4) In the influence of parent-child perception difference of paternal warmth on children’s aggressive behavior, the congruence and discrepancy of parent-child perception of boys was stronger than that of girls, but this gender difference did not exist in the influence of parent-child perception difference of maternal warmth on children’s aggressive behavior. This suggests that parents should truly understand their level of parental warmth, and pay attention to the role of fathers in parenting, to better promote child development.

Key words: parental warmth, parent-adolescent discrepancy, depressive symptoms, aggressive behavior, response surface analysis

CLC Number: 

  • B844
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