How Intergenerational Social Capital Similarity Explains the Effects of Parental Socioeconomic Status on Depressive Symptoms in Adolescents: Cross-Sectional Examination Based on China Family Panel Studies Data

Although extensive research has supported the impact of parental socioeconomic status (SES) on adolescents' depression, the mechanisms underlying this process remain unclear. Social capital, the set of normative resources derived from social integration (including social trust, reciprocity, and social networks), is intergenerationally transmissible and has a significant influence on adolescent development. As such, we explored whether parent–child social capital similarity mediates the effects of family SES on depressive symptoms in adolescents (i.e., family SES → parental social capital → adolescent social capital → adolescents' depressive symptoms) across various indicators of SES. Data from the 2020 China Family Panel Studies survey spanning 2,671 adolescents (aged 10–18) and their parents were analyzed using the actor-partner interdependence mediation model. Results showed that the impact of family SES on adolescents' depressive symptoms was mediated by the social capital similarity between mothers and adolescents (maternal social capital → adolescent social capital), but not by the social capital similarity between fathers and adolescents. Overall, we found evidence supporting the said mediation mechanism of parent–child similarity in social beliefs (i.e., social capital) in mothers, but not fathers. The current findings suggest that mother–child similarity in social beliefs could serve as a potential explanatory mechanism and possible intervening target for depression during adolescence. Moreover, the findings have vital implications in that they could inform the development of targeted interventions to mitigate SES-related mental health disparities among the youth population, thus improving quality of life.