Authoritarian parenting and university students' depression and academic stress : the mediating role of cognitive fusion and rumination

Abstract

With increasing mental health problems in Hong Kong universities, the study focuses on the underlying pathways among distal and proximal risk factors, specifically the mediating role of cognitive fusion and rumination, in explaining the association between authoritarian parenting and university students’ depression and academic stress. While Acceptance and Commitment Therapy has been effective in reducing cognitive fusion to alleviate depression and academic stress, there are limited studies measuring cognitive fusion in family contexts, particularly in Chinese cultures. Additionally, recent literature identified self-rumination and self-reflection as distinct rumination subtypes. While self-rumination is associated with internalizing symptoms, self-reflection has mixed mental health outcomes depending on the individual’s insight and concurrent self-rumination. 300 Chinese university students aged 18 and above in Hong Kong were recruited. Online self-report questionnaires measured participants’ perceived levels of authoritarian parenting, cognitive fusion, self-rumination, self-reflection, insight, depression, and academic stress. Results reveal that cognitive fusion and self-rumination mediated the relationship between authoritarian parenting and university students’ depression and academic stress whereas self-reflection did not. Exploratory moderated mediation analysis revealed that indirect effects of self-reflection were not conditional on self-rumination or insight. Findings support cognitive fusion and self-rumination as an underlying pathway between authoritarian parenting and negative mental health outcomes, which could be targeted risk factors for intervention. Further research is required to understand whether the effects of self-reflection change over time and if its adaptive benefits are conditional upon other variables.