How Do Parent-Child Interactions Predict and Maintain Depression in Childhood and Adolescence? A Critical Review of the Literature

Background and Objective: Negative parent-child interaction patterns have been linked to youth depression, with a causal influence being assumed. However, the majority of empirical studies examining this issue have used self-report methods to assess parent-child relationships, which cannot capture the temporal dynamics of dyadic interactions and may be subject to reporting bias. This review considers the association between parent-child interactions and youth depression with a specific focus on observational methodology. Keywords: Adolescence, childhood, depression, observations, parent-child interactions.