ArticleEpidemiology and psychiatric sciences2021
Prediction of parental alienation on depression in left-behind children: A 12-month follow-up investigation.
Article in Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed.
- The Longitudinal Association Between Parent-Child Attachment and Adolescent Depressive Symptoms: Moderation by Oxytocin Receptor Polymorphisms.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- The longitudinal relationships between parent-child alienation and depression in adolescents: insights of network analysis.Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health · 2026Article
- Parent-to-child intergenerational influence of perceived alienation towards parents: mediation of children's life-events, and moderation of children's gender and left-behind status.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- What contributes to alienation towards parents in left-behind children: development of alienation ecological system theoretical framework.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Family dominant hypothesis for the effect of family of origin on the mental health of offspring: evidence, mechanism, and implications.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Gender differences in parent-child alienation and its relationship to depressive symptoms in left-behind children: a comparative analysis of undirected and directed networks.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Depression in left-behind adolescents from single-parent families: a nomogram based on multidimensional risk factors.Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health · 2025Article
- Joint Trajectories of Depression and Rumination: Experiential Predictors and Risk of Nonsuicidal Self-Injury.Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry · 2024Article
- Depressive disorders in Chinese left-behind children and adolescents from Yunnan province: prevalence and association with self-harm behaviors.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2024Article
- A school-based intervention programme to prevent anxiety and depression among Chinese children during the COVID-19 pandemic.Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health · 2024Article
- Positive Development Patterns in Left-Behind Adolescents: Do Resilience and Making Sense of Adversity Have Beneficial Effects?Psychology research and behavior management · 2024Article
- Psychological Distress in Young Chilean Adults Exposed to Parental Alienating Behaviors during Childhood/Adolescence.European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education · 2023Article
- Article
- Childhood adversities and mental health problems: A systematic review.Journal of public health research · 2022Article
- Analysis of the Impacts on the Psychological Changes of Chinese Returning College Students After the Outbreak of the 2019 Coronavirus Disease.Frontiers in public health · 2022Article
- Health Status and Association With Interpersonal Relationships Among Chinese Children From Urban Migrant to Rural Left-Behind.Frontiers in public health · 2022Article
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6 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
aimsAlienation towards parents often occurs when parents divorce; however, it can also occur when one or both parents leave for work for more than 6 months. Our previous investigation has confirmed a high level of feelings of alienation towards parents among Chinese left-behind children. However, the longitudinal prediction of alienation on children's mental health outcomes remains largely unknown. This study aims to observe the prediction of alienation towards parents on children's depression 12 months later and potential mediators and moderators.
methodsA total of 1090 Chinese left-behind children took part in this 12-month follow-up investigation, using the Chinese version of the Inventory of Alienation towards Parents (IAP), the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI), the Adolescent Self-Rating Life-events Checklist (ASLEC), and the Adolescent Resilience Scale.
resultsAlienation towards parents was high (16.42 ± 7.27 for mother, 15.63 ± 7.17 for father) in left-behind children, and 21.01% of children reported depression. Alienation towards parents predicted current depression of children directly and later depression indirectly; children's alienation toward their mothers was a stronger predictor of depression than alienation towards fathers. In models, stressful life-events acted as a risk mediator. Previous depression was the strongest risk predictor, resilience was the strongest protective factor, and duration of fathers' absence and parents' marital status moderated the predictive effects.
conclusionsThis study is among the first to longitudinally confirm that alienation towards parents is a predictor of children's later depression. The results provide important suggestions for families and schools; i.e. to prevent depression in left-behind children, parent-child bonds especially alienation towards mothers, should be carefully considered, and individuals with more negative life-events and weaker resilience need further attention.
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