The Relationship Between Parental Violence and Children’s Depression with Emphasis on Psychological Mechanisms
Keywords:
Parental violence, Children’s depression, Parental mental health, Family dynamics, Psychological mechanismsAbstract
Purpose: The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between parental violence and children’s depression, with specific emphasis on the predictive role of parental mental health.
Methods and Materials: This study employed a correlational descriptive design with a sample of 400 children aged 8–14 years and their parents in Tehran, selected through multistage cluster sampling. Standardized instruments were used: the Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI) to measure children’s depression, the Conflict Tactics Scale – Parent Form (CTS) to assess parental violence, and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) to evaluate parental mental health. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 27. Descriptive statistics were calculated, and Pearson’s correlation coefficient and multiple linear regression analysis were applied to test the relationships among variables at a significance level of p < .05.
Findings: The results indicated that children’s depression was positively correlated with both parental violence (r = .46, p < .01) and parental mental health problems (r = .52, p < .01). Parental violence and parental mental health were also significantly correlated (r = .41, p < .01). The regression model was significant (F(2, 397) = 117.52, p < .001), explaining 37% of the variance in children’s depression (R² = .37). Both parental violence (B = 0.29, β = .31, t = 5.82, p < .001) and parental mental health (B = 0.41, β = .38, t = 6.72, p < .001) emerged as significant predictors, with parental mental health showing a slightly stronger predictive effect.
Conclusion: The findings highlight that both parental violence and parental psychological distress significantly contribute to the development of depressive symptoms in children. These results underscore the importance of family-based interventions that simultaneously address violent parenting practices and enhance parental mental health to reduce the risk of depression in children.
Downloads
References
Bahrami, E., & Jafari, S. (2019). A comparative study of parental violence in urban and rural families and its relationship with children's depression. Journal of Family Studies, 11(4), 103-122. https://www.mdpi.com/
Borelli, J. L., Hong, K., Kazmierski, K. F. M., Smiley, P. A., Sohn, L., & Guo, Y. (2024). Parents’ depressive symptoms and reflective functioning predict parents’ proficiency in relational savoring and children’s physiological regulation. Development and Psychopathology, 36(1), 121-134. https://doi.org/10.1017/S095457942200102X
Im, H.-J., & Do, M.-H. (2025). The Effect of Mother's Marital Conflict on Adolescent Children's Depression: The Mediating Role of Parenting Stress. Kor Parents Edu Assoc, 22(1), 27-46. https://doi.org/10.61400/jpe.2025.22.1.27
Lee, R. (2023). Influence of Parenting Stress on Depression Among Single Parents With Preschool Children During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Focusing on the Moderating Effect of Self-Rated Health Status. Korean Journal of Stress Research, 31(1), 37-43. https://doi.org/10.17547/kjsr.2023.31.1.37
Morales, J. C., Arbel, R., Dunton, G. F., & Mason, T. B. (2024). The temporal stability of maternal parenting style and child feeding practices: A six-wave longitudinal study. Appetite, 195, 107231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2024.107231
Mun, I. B., & Lee, S. (2023). The Impact of Parental Depression on Children’s Smartphone Addiction: A Serial Mediation Model With Parental Neglect and Children’s Self-Esteem. Social Science Computer Review, 41(1), 217-233. https://doi.org/10.1177/08944393211037579
Piro-Gambetti, B. (2024). Parent-Couple Satisfaction, Parent Depression, and Child Mental Health in Families With Autistic Children. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1306456
Sakız, H., & Kaçan, H. (2023). Resilience and Mental Health Literacy Mediate the Effect of Caregiver Burden on Internalized Stigma Among Mothers of Children with Disabilities. Children's Health Care, 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1080/02739615.2023.2290264
Schulz, M., Wood, C., & Giallo, R. (2023). Co‐parenting and Parenting Behaviour: The Role of Parent Mental Health for Mothers and Fathers in the Postnatal Period. Child & Family Social Work, 28(4), 1203-1213. https://doi.org/10.1111/cfs.13042
Seçinti, D. D., Diş, D., Albayrak, Z. S., & Şen, E. (2024). Depression and Parental Distress Among Caregivers of Autistic Children: A Serial Mediator Analysis in Caregivers of Autistic Children. BMC psychology, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-024-01704-x
Selçukoğlu Kilimci, Ö., Yücesoy, S. N., Turan, Ş., Uzunçakmak, T. K., Kara Esen, B., Serdengeçti, N., & Serdaroğlu, S. (2024). Parenting styles and psychological effects on children with alopecia areata: exploring family dynamics, anxiety, and depression. Archives of Dermatological Research, 316(6), 260. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00403-024-03031-y
Sullivan, M. J., Pruett, M. K., & Johnston, J. R. (2024). Parent‐child contact problems: Family violence and parental alienating behaviors either/or, neither/nor, both/and, one in the same? Family Court Review, 62(1), 68-85. https://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12764
Torres, A. (2024). Intergenerational and Cultural Parent-Child Protective Factors Against Depressive Symptoms in Filipino-American Adolescents. Berkeley Undergraduate Journal, 38(1). https://doi.org/10.5070/b3.35290
van Berkel, S. R., Prevoo, M. J. L., Linting, M., Pannebakker, F., & Alink, L. R. A. (2024). What About the Children? Co-Occurrence of Child Maltreatment and Parental Separation. Child maltreatment, 29(1), 53-65. https://doi.org/10.1177/10775595221130074
Westrupp, E. M., Bennett, C., Berkowitz, T., Youssef, G. J., Toumbourou, J. W., Tucker, R., Andrews, F. J., Evans, S., Teague, S. J., Karantzas, G. C., Melvin, G. M., Olsson, C., Macdonald, J. A., Greenwood, C. J., Mikocka-Walus, A., Hutchinson, D., Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, M., Stokes, M. A., Olive, L., . . . Sciberras, E. (2023). Child, parent, and family mental health and functioning in Australia during COVID-19: comparison to pre-pandemic data. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 32(2), 317-330. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-021-01861-z
Wu, Y. (2024). Single-Parent Families and Domestic Child Violence: The Role of Low Income as a Mediating Factor. Ijsspa, 4(2), 403-407. https://doi.org/10.62051/ijsspa.v4n2.53
Zhang, R., Xie, R., Feng, J., Ding, W., Song, S., Yang, Q., & Li, W. (2024). The Bidirectional Relationship Between Parental Psychological Control, Negative Automatic Thoughts, and Bullying in Chinese Children: A 2-Year Longitudinal Study. Psychology of violence. https://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000585
Zheng, X., Liu, Z., Liu, T., & Mu, S. (2025). Childhood Maltreatment and Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Among Chinese College Students: Roles of Parent-Child Attachment and Negative co-Rumination. Journal of family violence, 1-4. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-025-00854-9
Downloads
Published
Submitted
Revised
Accepted
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Hayat Samaripour, Parviz Askary, Jamileh Bozorgbashar (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
