The roles of parenting, resilience, and interpersonal relationships on adolescents' mental health and stress‐related growth during COVID‐19

Abstract Background The present longitudinal study investigated parenting style as a precursor for Chinese adolescents' stress‐related growth and mental health difficulties during the COVID‐19 pandemic, as well as the mediating roles of intrapersonal resilience and interpersonal relationships (i.e., peer and parent−adolescent). Methods Chinese adolescents in a middle school (7th grade) and their parents in Beijing, China, were invited to complete a survey at two time points (T1: September 2020, T2: June 2021). A total of 206 adolescents (52.9% boys; M age = 12.90 years, SD age = 0.33) and parents (17.5% fathers, 82.4% mothers; M age = 43.50 years, SD age = 4.76 years) were included in this study. Results Results showed that Chinese parents' authoritarian, not authoritative parenting, predicted adolescents' mental health difficulties nine months later. In addition, parent−adolescent relationships, but not peer relationships nor resilience, mediated the relations between parenting style and stress‐related growth. Adolescents' resilience predicted fewer mental health difficulties. Conclusion It is important to target multiple ecologies (e.g., family) of adolescents for promoting positive adjustment.