Iranian American university students' reports of perceived parental behaviors on their mental health

The purposes of this study were (1) to examine whether perceptions of maternal and paternal behaviors (i.e., support and psychological control) are directly related to mental health (i.e., depressed mood); (2) to assess whether parent-child relationships (i.e., conflict and educational discrepancy) are directly related to depressed mood; and (3) examine whether these perceived parental behaviors and parent-child relationships are indirectly related to depressed mood through the two dimensions of self-esteem (i.e., positive esteem and self-deprecation) in Iranian American emerging adults. Self-report surveys were collected from 121 Iranian American emerging adults from two public universities in California. Results indicated that positive esteem, self-deprecation, maternal and paternal support, maternal and paternal psychological control, mother-child and father-child conflict, and mother-child and father-child discrepancy were all correlated to depressed mood. Furthermore, all four parenting variables were directly or indirectly related (through either positive esteem or self-deprecation) to depressed mood. Clinical implications for parents, emerging adults, practitioners, and researchers are Discussed.