A Longitudinal Examination of Parent-Adolescent Conflict, Romantic Relationship Conflict, and Depressive Symptoms among Mexican-origin Adolescent Females

Using data from a longitudinal study on Mexican-origin female adolescents, this study examined whether mother-daughter conflict (intensity and frequency) at Wave 1 predicted adolescent depressive symptomatology at Wave 2 and examined the possible mediating role of romantic relationship conflict. A total of 100 participants had complete data on the variables of interest. Results indicated that conflict intensity with mothers at wave 1 predicted romantic relationship negativity at Wave 2 and depressive symptoms at Wave 3. Contrary to expectations, romantic relationship conflict did not predict depressive symptoms at Wave 3. Findings point to the importance of the mother-daughter relationship in predicting adjustment. The emotional context of the relationship with parents and adolescent romantic partners can ultimately affect adolescent psychological well-being. Specifically, research suggests that less supportive parenting can affect the psychological well-being of the child and that family conflict is a predictor of depression in adolescents (Sheeber et al., 1997). The quality of relationships with romantic partners can also affect adolescents’ psychological well-being. Research shows that adolescents who experience stress in romantic relationships report higher levels of depressive symptoms (La Greca & Moore, 2005). Overall, most of our understanding on the link between parent-adolescent and romantic relationship factors has been based on the mainstream work with White adolescents and their families. Latinos are the largest growing ethnic minority group in the US (US Census, 2010) and depression during adolescence is a serious public health issue. Therefore, it is important that we examine predictors of depression among this population. The purpose of the current study was to examine the link between parent-adolescent conflict and relationship quality with romantic partners in predicting depressive symptomatology. Specifically, we tested whether romantic relationship negativity would mediate the relation between parent-adolescent conflict and depressive symptoms in a group of Mexican-origin middle and late adolescent females.