The Relationship Between Parental Psychological Control and Adolescent Depression: The Mediating Role of Self-Esteem and the Moderating Role of Peer Support

Sanna Korhonen; Christopher Lee; Tereza Malá

Authors

Sanna Korhonen Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland Author https://orcid.org/0009-0001-1198-8902
Christopher Lee Department of Child Psychology, Brock University, St. Catharines, Canada Corresponding Author https://orcid.org/0009-0003-9227-9853
Tereza Malá Department of Experimental Psychology, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic Author https://orcid.org/0009-0000-8508-8053

Keywords:

Parental psychological control, adolescent depression, self-esteem, peer support, mediation, moderation

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to examine the relationship between parental psychological control and depressive symptoms among adolescents, with self-esteem as a mediating variable and peer support as a moderating protective factor.

Methods and Materials: This cross-sectional correlational study was conducted among 426 adolescents aged 13–18 years enrolled in secondary schools in Canada during the 2025–2026 academic year. Participants were selected through multistage cluster sampling. Data were collected using the Psychological Control Scale–Youth Self-Report, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale for Children, and the Friends subscale of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Data analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 29 and the PROCESS macro. Pearson correlations were calculated, and regression-based mediation and moderation analyses were conducted using 5,000 bootstrap resamples. Statistical significance was set at p < .05.

Findings: Parental psychological control was positively associated with depressive symptoms (r = .52, p < .001) and negatively associated with self-esteem (r = -.48, p < .001). Self-esteem was negatively associated with depressive symptoms (r = -.61, p < .001). Mediation analysis showed a significant indirect effect of parental psychological control on depressive symptoms through self-esteem (indirect effect = 0.38, 95% CI [0.29, 0.48]), while the direct effect remained significant (B = 0.49, p < .001), indicating partial mediation. Peer support significantly moderated the relationship between parental psychological control and depressive symptoms (B = -0.12, p = .002). Conditional effects showed that this association was strongest at low peer support (B = 0.58, p < .001) and weakest at high peer support (B = 0.28, p < .001). The final model explained approximately 50% of the variance in depressive symptoms.

Conclusion: Parental psychological control is associated with greater adolescent depressive symptoms both directly and indirectly through reduced self-esteem, while strong peer support appears to buffer this relationship.

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