Perceived parental depression, intrusive rumination, and internalizing problems: A three-wave longitudinal study in adolescents

Background/objective: Research suggests that perceiving parental depression elicits internalizing problems in ado-lescents, but certain studies have indicated that adolescents' internalizing problems also increase their perception of parental emotion. To further investigate the inconsistent findings about the nature of this relationship, the cur-rent study used longitudinal data to examine the causal association between adolescents' internalizing problems and the parental depression they perceived, as well as the role of intrusive rumination in the relationship. Method: In this longitudinal study, 392 adolescents who experienced the catastrophic Jiuzhaigou earthquake in 2017 were surveyed at three time points after the earthquake: 12 months (T1), 21 months (T2) and 27 months (T3). A cross-lagged panel model was used to carry out the data analysis. Results: Mutual cause-and-effect relationships were found between intrusive rumination and both perceived parental depression and internalizing problems, respectively; a unilateral causal relationship in which internalizing problems positively predicted perceived parental depression was also found. In addition, internalizing problems predicted perceived parental depression via the mediating role of intrusive rumination; similarly, intrusive rumination predicted perceived parental depression via internalizing problems. Conclusions: Internalizing problems were a risk factor for perceived paren-tal depression, and intrusive rumination played an important role in the relationship between internalizing prob-lems and perceived parental depression.