The Relationship between Overparenting and Adolescent Anxiety: The Mediating Role of Cognitive Avoidance

Background: Adolescent anxiety has a significant impact on physical and mental health, and overparenting is recognized as one of the major factors affecting adolescent anxiety. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between overparenting and adolescent anxiety, while also examining the mediating role of cognitive avoidance. Methods: Data were collected through a cross-sectional survey with 1931 valid responses using the Overparenting Scale, the Cognitive Avoidance Scale, and the Anxiety Self-Rating Scale. A structural equation modelling approach was used to test the mediating role of cognitive avoidance between overparenting and adolescent anxiety and to reveal the underlying mechanisms. The significance of the mediating effect was assessed based on maximum likelihood estimation. Differences in the mediating role of cognitive avoidance in the male and female samples were comparatively analyzed in the mediation effect analysis. Results: The study's findings reveal a significant positive correlation between overparenting and adolescent anxiety (p < 0.01), between overparenting and cognitive avoidance (p < 0.01), and between cognitive avoidance and adolescent anxiety (p < 0.01). Cognitive avoidance mediated the relationship between overparenting and adolescent anxiety. Overparenting can not only directly predict adolescent anxiety but also indirectly predict it through the mediating role of cognitive avoidance. Conclusion: This study validates the direct effect of overparenting on adolescent anxiety and reveals the mechanism of cognitive avoidance as a mediator.