# Gender-Specific Transmission of Depressive Symptoms in Chinese Families: A Cross-Lagged Panel Network Analysis Based on the China Family Panel Studies

## TL;DR

This study explores how depressive symptoms are transmitted between parents and adolescents in Chinese families, with a focus on gender differences.

## Contribution

The study introduces gender-specific cross-lagged panel network analysis to reveal distinct transmission patterns of depressive symptoms.

## Key findings

- Loneliness at T1 consistently influenced other depressive symptoms at T2 across all networks.
- Girls' depressive symptoms at T1 more strongly influenced their parents at T2.
- Boys' symptoms at T2, especially sleep restlessness, were more influenced by parental symptoms at T1.

## Abstract

Depression is prevalent and may be transmitted within the family. However, whether and how gender influences the interaction of depressive symptoms between parents and adolescents remains largely unclear. The current study used a cross-lagged panel network (CLPN) analysis to examine the gender-specific transmission of depressive symptoms in representative Chinese families from the China Family Panel Studies. The participants included 1469 adolescents (48.3% girls) and their parents, with depressive symptoms assessed by the epidemiological studies depression scale in 2020 (T1; Mage = 13.80) and 2022 (T2; Mage = 15.62), respectively. The gender-specific CLPNs (i.e., boy–father, boy–mother, girl–father, and girl–mother CLPNs) showed that the “loneliness” at T1 repeatedly exhibited higher impacts on the other symptoms at T2 across networks. Furthermore, the symptoms of girls at T1 were more likely to influence their parents at T2, while the symptoms of boys at T2, especially the “sleep restlessness”, were susceptible to parental influence at T1. These findings provide deeper insights into the development of mental health policies, and future studies are needed to explore the mediating mechanisms of such transmission.