Cumulative and Overload Patterns of Associations between Parenting Congruence and Youth Depressive Symptoms across Parenting Dimensions

The congruence of parenting dimensions is an important component within the family system, yet its unique role in youth adjustment remains understudied, particularly in the Chinese context, where parents are traditionally expected to fulfill different socialization roles. The current study investigated how the absolute levels and congruence of four parenting dimensions (e.g., warmth, autonomy support, coercion, and psychological control) were associated with youth’s depressive symptoms, and whether these associations varied by parent and youth gender, within the Chinese cultural context. Data were collected from 1119 families (51% girls; M_youth−age = 10.31 years, SD = 1.54). Applying polynomial regression and response surface analysis, the results showed that (a) congruent parental warmth and autonomy support were associated with fewer depressive symptoms in youth; (b) parenting congruence in coercion was not related to youth depressive symptoms; and (c) when parents’ overall use of psychological control was at a moderate level, greater congruence was linked to fewer depressive symptoms. Despite the cross-sectional nature and small effect sizes of these associations, this study provided initial evidence regarding different patterns of associations between congruence in various parenting dimensions and youth adjustment in the Chinese cultural context.