# The impact of parent–child interaction and adolescent deviant behavior: the sequential mediation of depression and deviant peer affiliation

## TL;DR

This study shows that better parent-child interaction reduces adolescent deviant behavior in China by lowering depression and bad peer influences.

## Contribution

The study integrates emotional and social pathways in a single model linking parent-child interaction to adolescent deviant behavior.

## Key findings

- Parent-child interaction is indirectly linked to deviant behavior through depression and deviant peer affiliation.
- The model explains 30.4% of the variance in adolescent deviant behavior.
- Reducing deviant behavior requires addressing both emotional and peer-related factors.

## Abstract

Adolescent deviant behavior in China—including aggression, truancy, and substance use—poses substantial risks for mental health, violations of social norms, and later criminal involvement. Prior studies have examined parent–child relationships, depressive symptoms, and deviant peer affiliation, but these factors are often treated in isolation. Evidence based on nationally representative data is still limited regarding how everyday parent–child interaction is linked to deviant behavior through both emotional states and peer networks within a single integrated model.

Using Wave 2 (2014–2015) data from the China Education Panel Survey, we analyzed 8,294 junior high school students. Validated self-report scales were used to assess parent–child interaction, depressive symptoms, deviant peer affiliation, and deviant behavior. Correlation analyses and sequential mediation analyses (PROCESS Model 6) were conducted, controlling for gender, household registration type, and only-child status.

Parent–child interaction was negatively associated with depressive symptoms, deviant peer affiliation, and deviant behavior, whereas depressive symptoms and deviant peer affiliation were positively associated with deviant behavior. Mediation analyses indicated that parent–child interaction was indirectly related to deviant behavior via depressive symptoms, via deviant peer affiliation, and via the sequential combination of these two mediators. The final model explained 30.4% of the variance in deviant behavior.

More frequent parent–child interaction is associated with lower levels of adolescent deviant behavior, in part because it is related to fewer depressive symptoms and less deviant peer affiliation. These findings support family-centered and mental health–informed strategies for preventing youth deviance and reducing later offending risk.