Parent–Adolescent communication during COVID-19 and adolescent Emotions: The role of parenting style

This study investigates how parent–adolescent communication during the COVID-19 stay-at-home period relates to adolescents’ emotional adjustment (i.e., aggression and depressive symptoms) and whether these associations are shaped by parenting style. Utilizing a nationally representative sample of South Korean adolescents (N = 2,285) from the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey 2018 (KCYPS 2018), this study used cross-sectional regression analyses to examine both main and interaction effects. Adolescents reported a significant increase in parent–adolescent communication during the COVID-19 restrictions compared to the pre-pandemic period. Greater parent–adolescent communication was associated with lower levels of aggression and depressive symptoms. However, these protective effects were moderated by parenting practices, as rejecting, coercive, and inconsistent parenting weakened the benefits of increased communication. These findings suggest that the effect of parent–adolescent communication on adolescent emotional adjustment depends on the quality of parenting style.