Self-compassion mediates and moderates the association between harsh parenting and depressive symptoms in Chinese adolescent

Harsh parenting has been found to be a vital risk factor for adolescent depressive symptoms, however, previous research has primarily examined the direct effect of harsh parenting on depressive symptoms, and the underlying mechanisms were largely unexplored. The present study tested the mediating and moderating roles of self-compassion in the association between harsh parenting and adolescent depressive symptoms. A cross-sectional paper-pencil questionnaire survey regarding harsh parenting, self-compassion, depressive symptoms and demographic variables was administered to a convenience sample of 1020 Chinese adolescents aged between 15 and 19 years old (Mage = 16.82, SDage = 0.8; 46.08% girls). The results showed that harsh parenting was positively associated with adolescent depressive symptoms, and self-compassion was a mediator linking harsh parenting to adolescent depressive symptoms. Meanwhile, self-compassion was also a moderator buffering the relationship between harsh parenting and adolescent depressive symptoms. The relationship between harsh parenting and depressive symptoms was weaker for adolescents with higher levels of self-compassion than for those with lower levels of self-compassion. The findings extend previous research by revealing the unique and combined effects of harsh parenting and self-compassion in the development of adolescent depressive symptoms with two statistical models (i.e., mediation and moderation models). Implications and limitations are discussed.