The effect of neuroticism on depressive symptoms in Chinese college students: maternal parenting practices as moderators
BackgroundDepressive symptoms is extremely prevalent in college students nowadays. It can cause long-term suffering and may even lead to suicidal ideation. It has been indicated by research that depression is related to a variety of psychosocial factors, the most notable being neuroticism and parent...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1584212/full |
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| author | Bao Zhao Xiaoyu Wang Xinyao Jiang Ruixue Zhuang Jiaqi Li Nian Ji Dengting Boyanton |
| author_facet | Bao Zhao Xiaoyu Wang Xinyao Jiang Ruixue Zhuang Jiaqi Li Nian Ji Dengting Boyanton |
| author_sort | Bao Zhao |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | BackgroundDepressive symptoms is extremely prevalent in college students nowadays. It can cause long-term suffering and may even lead to suicidal ideation. It has been indicated by research that depression is related to a variety of psychosocial factors, the most notable being neuroticism and parenting. However, the underlying mechanisms of these variables have remained unclear. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the interaction between maternal parenting practices and neuroticism and its effects on depression.MethodA total of 2,692 undergraduate students were enrolled in this cross-sectional investigation from four universities located in Shandong Province, China. Participants filled simplified versions of the Big Five Personality Inventory, Parental Bonding Instrument, and Self-Rating Depressive Symptoms Scale. After eliminating entries with incomplete values, the dataset comprised 2,588 complete responses for analysis. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed using SPSS 22.0 and the PROCESS macro for data analysis.ResultsThe results indicated that both neuroticism (r = 0.572, p < 0.001) and maternal control factor (r = 0.253, p < 0.001) displayed strong positive correlation with depression; whereas maternal care factor (r = −0.402, p < 0.001) and maternal encouraging autonomy factor (r = −0.345, p < 0.001) are negatively correlated with depression. Additionally, neuroticism demonstrated a significant direct effect on depression (β = 0.571, p < 0.001). Moderation models were employed to examine the relationship between depression, maternal parenting practices, and neuroticism. Specifically, a high level of maternal care (ΔR2 = 0.001, p = 0.046) and maternal encouraging autonomy (ΔR2 = 0.0046, p = 0.004) significantly weakened the connections between neuroticism and depression, while an elevated level of maternal control enhanced the relationship between neuroticism and depression (ΔR2 = 0.0019, p = 0.038).ConclusionThis study presents initial evidence for the moderating role of maternal parenting practices in the neuroticism-depression association. These results may facilitate the development of targeted intervention protocols tailored to university student subgroups based on different socioeconomic demographic characteristics and personality profiles. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b7fcc430e58244a6910b0be91a515fea |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
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| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj-art-b7fcc430e58244a6910b0be91a515fea2025-08-20T03:31:24ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782025-06-011610.3389/fpsyg.2025.15842121584212The effect of neuroticism on depressive symptoms in Chinese college students: maternal parenting practices as moderatorsBao Zhao0Xiaoyu Wang1Xinyao Jiang2Ruixue Zhuang3Jiaqi Li4Nian Ji5Dengting Boyanton6School of Psychology, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, Shandong, ChinaSchool of Psychology, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, Shandong, ChinaSchool of Psychology, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, Shandong, ChinaCollaborative Innovation Center of Assessment toward Basic Education Quality, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, ChinaColumbus Academy, Gahanna, OH, United StatesStudent Mental Health and Education Center, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, Shandong, China171 SIG Chair, American Educational Research Association (AERA), Washington, DC, United StatesBackgroundDepressive symptoms is extremely prevalent in college students nowadays. It can cause long-term suffering and may even lead to suicidal ideation. It has been indicated by research that depression is related to a variety of psychosocial factors, the most notable being neuroticism and parenting. However, the underlying mechanisms of these variables have remained unclear. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the interaction between maternal parenting practices and neuroticism and its effects on depression.MethodA total of 2,692 undergraduate students were enrolled in this cross-sectional investigation from four universities located in Shandong Province, China. Participants filled simplified versions of the Big Five Personality Inventory, Parental Bonding Instrument, and Self-Rating Depressive Symptoms Scale. After eliminating entries with incomplete values, the dataset comprised 2,588 complete responses for analysis. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed using SPSS 22.0 and the PROCESS macro for data analysis.ResultsThe results indicated that both neuroticism (r = 0.572, p < 0.001) and maternal control factor (r = 0.253, p < 0.001) displayed strong positive correlation with depression; whereas maternal care factor (r = −0.402, p < 0.001) and maternal encouraging autonomy factor (r = −0.345, p < 0.001) are negatively correlated with depression. Additionally, neuroticism demonstrated a significant direct effect on depression (β = 0.571, p < 0.001). Moderation models were employed to examine the relationship between depression, maternal parenting practices, and neuroticism. Specifically, a high level of maternal care (ΔR2 = 0.001, p = 0.046) and maternal encouraging autonomy (ΔR2 = 0.0046, p = 0.004) significantly weakened the connections between neuroticism and depression, while an elevated level of maternal control enhanced the relationship between neuroticism and depression (ΔR2 = 0.0019, p = 0.038).ConclusionThis study presents initial evidence for the moderating role of maternal parenting practices in the neuroticism-depression association. These results may facilitate the development of targeted intervention protocols tailored to university student subgroups based on different socioeconomic demographic characteristics and personality profiles.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1584212/fullneuroticismdepressive symptomscollege studentsmaternal parenting practicesmoderation |
| spellingShingle | Bao Zhao Xiaoyu Wang Xinyao Jiang Ruixue Zhuang Jiaqi Li Nian Ji Dengting Boyanton The effect of neuroticism on depressive symptoms in Chinese college students: maternal parenting practices as moderators Frontiers in Psychology neuroticism depressive symptoms college students maternal parenting practices moderation |
| title | The effect of neuroticism on depressive symptoms in Chinese college students: maternal parenting practices as moderators |
| title_full | The effect of neuroticism on depressive symptoms in Chinese college students: maternal parenting practices as moderators |
| title_fullStr | The effect of neuroticism on depressive symptoms in Chinese college students: maternal parenting practices as moderators |
| title_full_unstemmed | The effect of neuroticism on depressive symptoms in Chinese college students: maternal parenting practices as moderators |
| title_short | The effect of neuroticism on depressive symptoms in Chinese college students: maternal parenting practices as moderators |
| title_sort | effect of neuroticism on depressive symptoms in chinese college students maternal parenting practices as moderators |
| topic | neuroticism depressive symptoms college students maternal parenting practices moderation |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1584212/full |
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