Date of Award

2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

MA in Psychology

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Tamara Del Vecchio

Second Advisor

Melissa Peckins

Abstract

Depression is a prevalent mental health disorder among adolescents, with children of immigrants being disproportionately affected. This study examined the relationship between parent immigrant status and depressive symptoms in young adults and investigated the mediating roles of parenting styles, specifically authoritarian parenting, and intergenerational cultural dissonance. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted on Qualtrics among 193 undergraduate students between the ages 17-30, at St. John’s University, with 125 children of immigrants and 69 children of non-immigrants. Depression was measured using the Patient-Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), intergenerational cultural dissonance was measured using the Asian American Conflicts Scale, and parenting styles was measured using the Parenting Styles Questionnaire (PSQ). Two mediation analyses were conducted to examine if authoritarian parenting and intergenerational cultural dissonance mediated the relationship between parent immigrant status and depressive symptoms. The results indicated that children of immigrants (M = 7.31, SD = 5.75) reported higher depressive symptoms than children of non-immigrants (M = 5.04, SD = 4.65). Authoritarian parenting and cultural dissonance both mediated the relationship between parent immigrant status and depressive symptoms. These findings suggest that growing up in an immigrant household may introduce unique stressors such as high expectations and limited emotional support, contributing to mental health challenges. The study’s results have implications for the development of interventions aimed at reducing symptoms of depression in children of immigrants, such as educating parents about affective parenting behaviors.

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