How parental educational anxiety fuels adolescent depression: the mediating chain of moral disengagement and negative coping, and the buffering role of psychological resilience

BACKGROUND: In the context of academically competitive cultures, particularly in China, parental educational anxiety has emerged as a salient psychosocial stressor affecting adolescent mental health. While growing attention has been given to this phenomenon, the psychological pathways through which parental educational anxiety relates to adolescent depression remain insufficiently delineated. This study investigates the mediating roles of moral disengagement and negative coping style, as well as the moderating function of psychological resilience in this relationship. METHODS: A total of 1,979 parent-adolescent dyads were recruited from six schools across three provinces in China (Liaoning, Shandong, and Shanghai). Standardized questionnaires were administered separately to both parents and their adolescent children. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was employed using Mplus 8.3 to test the hypothesized chain mediation pathways, while moderation analysis was conducted using SPSS 23.0 to examine whether psychological resilience buffers the direct association between parental educational anxiety and adolescent depression. RESULTS: Parental educational anxiety was significantly and positively associated with adolescent depression (β = 0.304, t = 14.929, p < 0.001). Moreover, a significant sequential pathway was identified: moral disengagement was positively associated with negative coping style (β = 0.270, t = 13.548, p < 0.001), and both variables jointly mediated the association between parental educational anxiety and adolescent depression. Additionally, psychological resilience moderated this association such that the relationship was attenuated among adolescents with higher resilience (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: These findings highlight a complex chain of cognitive and emotional mechanisms linking parental educational anxiety to adolescent depressive symptoms. Moral disengagement and negative coping style operate as sequential mediators, while psychological resilience serves as a buffering factor. Although causal interpretations are limited by the cross-sectional design, the results underscore the importance of addressing both family-based pressures and adolescents' internal coping resources in interventions aimed at improving youth mental health in high-pressure educational contexts.