The Associations of Family Communication Patterns With Young Adults’ Depression in Hungary and China: The Mediating Role of Maternal Psychological Control

Abstract

In this survey study (N = 235), we examined the associations among young adults’ perceptions of family communication patterns (FCPs), maternal psychological control (MPC), and depression in Hungary and China. The results revealed that Chinese young adults reported higher levels of family conformity orientation, MPC, and depression compared to their Hungarian counterparts. Additionally, Chinese and Hungarian young adults reported similar levels of family conversation orientation. Furthermore, results indicated that conversation orientation was a direct negative predictor of young adults’ depression. Lastly, conformity orientation was a positive indirect predictor of depression through MPC. These findings underscore the significant roles of general FCPs and specific parental behaviors play in the mental well-being of young adults.

Keywords

family communication patterns maternal psychological control depression Hungary China

According to a recent report by the World Health Organization (2017), around 4.4% people suffered from depression worldwide, which contributes to disability and suicide fatalities significantly. Depression may not merely be related to individuals’ incapability to engage in diverse life activities (Hysenbegasi et al., 2005) and physical harm (Shao et al., 2021). It can also have negative impacts on society through antisocial behaviors (Kim & Capaldi, 2004) and societal burden (Donohue & Pincus, 2007). Thus, extensive research investigates the driving factors of depression, aiming to prevent or intervene in its occurrence and development.

Families provide an indispensable locale for children's mental well-being, with mothers playing a central role as primary caregivers. Past studies have indicated that family communication patterns (FCPs), namely, conformity-oriented and conversation-oriented, and maternal psychological control (MPC) are critical factors associated with offsprings’ depressive symptoms (Curran & Allen, 2017; Frazer & Fite, 2016). Specifically, FCPs may operate differently across various cultural contexts. For instance, Shearman and Dumlao (2008) found that American young adults reported higher conversation orientation and conformity orientation than their Japanese counterparts. They also found a strong negative relationship between American young adults’ communication satisfaction and conformity orientation, whereas no significant association was found among their Japanese counterparts. Differences in cultural understanding of controlling family interactions may explain this divergent finding. When controlling family interactions are perceived as normal rather than intrusive, their effects on children's mental health may diverge (Chao & Tseng, 2002). Particularly, in European countries, such as Hungary, controlling family interactions are more likely to be interpreted as interfering and invasive and result in negative child outcomes (Chao & Tseng, 2002).

Cross-cultural studies can provide rich insights into parenting constructs and their links to child outcomes (Vazsonyi et al., 2003). However, the Central and Eastern European and Asian contexts have been underrepresented (Lansford, 2022). The current study examines two major factors, FCPs and MPC, in explaining young adults’ depression by focusing on the Hungarian and Chinese cultural contexts.

Standing in the interjection of West and the East, Hungary witnessed the highest suicide rates in Europe in early 1980s; despite the economic and political changes, Hungary suicide rates remained high, ranking the second in the EU in the early 2000s (Rihmer & Akiskal, 2006; Tong, 1994). Specifically, a recent report revealed that around 8% Hungarian people aged 15 or over suffered from depressive symptoms within a 1-year period (Hungarian Central Statistical office, 2019). On a darker note, research showed a higher rate of youth depression in modern China with 38.35% of Chinese young adults suffering from depressive symptoms (Qin et al., 2018). Although the two countries share a history as state socialist countries and have undergone varying degrees of transition moving toward a more open economy (Tong, 1994), Hungary is an individualistic society, while China is a collectivistic society (Hofstede et al., 2010). Using Hungarian and Chinese young adult samples, we examine the differences and similarities related to FCPs, MPC, and depression in the two cultural contexts. Additionally, this study explores the associations of FCPs and MPC with depression among young adults, as well as the mediating role of MPC and moderating role of culture.

FCPs and Young Adults’ Depression

The parent–child interactions are crucial to the development of children's mental health. FCPs, emerging from sense-making and constructing shared realities, are fundamental and universal patterns of communication behaviors in families (Koerner & Schrodt, 2014). The shared values and beliefs in families can have profound effects on family members’ perceptions of their social surroundings and communication within and outside of family contexts (Koerner & Fitzpatrick, 2002). In explaining the two fundamental dimensions of FCPs, Koerner and Fitzpatrick (2002) stated that FCPs serve to family functioning in that conversation-oriented families allow open and unrestrained communication while children from families with a conformity orientation tend to follow their parents’ opinions. Scholars have applied FCPs theory in diverse cultures (e.g., Shearman & Dumlao, 2008). Abundant studies have shown that conversation orientation often leads to positive outcomes. For instance, conversation orientation is positively associated with young adults’ resilience in coping with distress (Dorrance-Hall et al., 2021). While the effects of conformity orientation are inconsistent, research findings have indicated that conformity orientation could make children more susceptible to depression (Curran & Allen, 2017; Shearman & Dumlao, 2008). Building on the theoretical and empirical lenses, we hypothesize that:

H1: FCPs are associated with depression. Specifically, conversation orientation (H1a) is negatively, and conformity orientation (H1b) is positively associated with depression.

FCPs and MPC

Parental psychological control refers to parents’ manipulation of children's psychological and emotional development (Barber, 1996) by employing various invalidating, disapproving, neglecting, and/or abusive psychological intervention (Barber & Harmon, 2002). Many scholars have asserted that autonomy is a fundamental psychological need for individuals (e.g., Deci & Ryan, 2008). As such, parental psychological control can hinder the realization of autonomy and thus frustrate developmental outcomes (Costa et al., 2020). Like other parenting practices, MPC is not isolated; it exists within the context of a larger family communication environment (Segrin et al., 2022). While conformity orientation fosters controlling parental behaviors such as MPC, conversation orientation cultivates open communication among family members, contrasting the psychologically manipulative parenting behaviors. Indeed, the family communication environment, whether conformity oriented or conversation oriented, affects children's resilience, which could increase or reduce their levels of distress, respectively (Dorrance-Hall et al., 2021). For example, children's distress can occur through helicopter parenting, which bears similar characteristic of MPC (Dorrance-Hall et al., 2021). On the opposite side, Schrodt et al. (2007) found that parental confirmation, by which parents validate children, mediated the effects of both conversation and conformity orientations on children's mental health. Expanding on past studies (e.g., Schrodt et al., 2007), we examine a negative explanatory mechanism, mothers’ invalidating or controlling behaviors (i.e., MPC), in explicating the associations between FCPs and depression. Compared to the role played by fathers in young adult's life satisfaction, research has established that mothers play a significantly stronger role (Levin & Currie, 2010). Additionally, mothers communicate more openly with their children than fathers in the family context (Ponnet et al., 2013). We argue that the general family communication atmosphere may influence the extent to which mothers take on the “open communicator” versus “controlling role,” which, in turn, affects children's depressive symptoms. In line with prior literature, we pose the following hypotheses:

H2: MPC will mediate the associations between FCPs and young adults’ depression. Specifically, conversation orientation will indirectly lower (H2a), and conformity orientation will indirectly increase (H2b) depression through MPC.

Cross-Cultural Comparison of Hungary and China

Cross-cultural comparative studies facilitate the generality of parenting constructs and their links to offspring outcomes (Vazsonyi et al., 2003). Nevertheless, there is a lack of cross-cultural research examining FCPs and MPC and their associations with young adults’ depression in both Hungary and China. Hofstede et al. (2010) considered Hungary and China as different cultures with Hungary having a smaller power distance and being more individualistic culture compared to China. The cultural differences between the two cultures have the potential to affect family interactions and child development. Chinese culture emphasizes relational hierarchy and interpersonal harmony over individual autonomy (Zhang et al., 2005). In the Chinese family context, young adults are expected to be obedient to older adults (Zhang et al., 2021), such as their authoritative parents (Chao & Tseng, 2002). In contrast, Hungarians emphasize personal autonomy and freedom of expression (Hofstede et al., 2010). Hence, children in Hungarian families can freely communicate with, instead of being obedient to, their parents in their decision-making processes.

Supporting these views, empirical research indicated that mothers from collectivistic cultural contexts employed more psychologically controlling mechanisms than mothers from individualistic cultural contexts in the family context (Rudy & Halgunseth, 2005). For example, Chinese mothers adopted more psychologically controlling behaviors compared to their American counterparts (Doan et al., 2017). In a similar vein, a cross-cultural study by Toussaint et al. (2023) indicated that people in a collectivistic society (e.g., South Korea) reported higher levels of depressive symptoms compared to people in an individualistic society (e.g., the United States). Therefore, we hypothesize that:

H3: Compared to Chinese young adults, Hungarian young adults will report lower levels of conformity orientation (H3a), MPC (H3b), depression (H3c), and higher levels of conversation orientation (H3d).

Among a scarcity of cross-cultural research on FCPs, Guan and Li's study (2017) illustrated that culture moderated conformity orientation, rather than conversation orientation, and relational closeness to impact young adults’ conflict styles, while Shearman and Dumlao (2008) found a strong positive correlation between conversation orientation and communication satisfaction for both Japanese and American participants. Although these findings are inconclusive, they have provided some exploratory insights regarding the moderating role of culture in the predicted associations specified in H1 and H2 in our study. Hence, we raise the following research question:

RQ1. Will culture moderate the predicted associations specified in H1 and H2?

Method

Participants

We used a convenience sample with balanced gender distributions of voluntary 246 participants in Hungary and China. We removed 11 participants’ data due to excessive missing values. Participants included 103 males (i.e., 45 Hungarians and 58 Chinese) and 132 females (i.e., 83 Hungarians and 49 Chinese). Hungarian respondents’ (n = 128) mean age was 25.27 years old (SD = 5.01; age range = 18–39), and Chinese respondents’ (n = 107) mean age was 29.03 years old (SD = 3.97; age range = 20–38). Given differences in gender and age distributions in the two samples, we considered them as covariates in the analyses to minimize their impact on our findings.

Procedure

Participants completed an anonymous online questionnaire in approximately 10 min. The original questionnaire was in English and was translated into Hungarian and Chinese, respectively by two experienced bilingual graduate students. Backtranslation was used to check the semantic validity of the scales. Participants answered questions related to the following major measures after providing their demographic information. Table 1 details the descriptive statistics and correlations among the major variables.

Table 1.

Means, Standard Deviations, Correlations Among the Major Variables.

All participants (N = 235)
Variables	M	SD	1	2	3
1. Conversation orientation	3.18	0.87
2. Conformity orientation	2.81	0.82	−.43 **
3. Maternal psychological control	2.15	1.03	−.31 **	.47 **
4. Depression	1.74	0.53	−.24 **	.19 **	.24 **

	Hungarian participants (n = 128)
1. Conversation orientation	3.18	0.86
2. Conformity orientation	2.69	0.83	−.49 **
3. Maternal psychological control	1.99	0.96	−.41 **	.40 **
4. Depression	1.57	.46	−.26 **	.12	.15

	Chinese participants (n = 107)
1. Conversation orientation	3.18	.88
2. Conformity orientation	2.94	.79	−.36 **
3. Maternal psychological control	2.33	1.08	−.21*	.52 **
4. Depression	1.94	.54	−.25*	.17	.22*

Note. *p < .05, **p < .01.

Major Measures

Predictors: FCPs

We applied the revised FCPs instrument to measure participants’ perceived FCPs (Ritchie & Fitzpatrick, 1990) on a 5-point Likert Scale (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree). Fifteen items assessed conversation orientation (e.g., “I can tell my parents almost anything”; M = 3.18, SD = 0.87, Ω = 0.93), and 11 items measured conformity orientation (e.g., “In our home, my parents usually have the last word”; M = 2.81, SD = 0.82, Ω = 0.87).

Mediator: MPC

We used five adapted items on a 5-point Likert scale (Shek, 2007) to measure MPC (e.g., “When my mother criticizes me, she always mentions my past mistakes.” 1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree; M = 2.15, SD = 1.03, Ω = 0.81).

Dependent Variable: Depression

Five items on a 4-point Likert Scale adapted from Zigmond and Snaith (1983) assessed the levels of depression of the young participants (e.g., “I feel cheerful” and “I enjoy the things I used to enjoy”; 1 = not at all, 4 = most of the time; M = 1.57, SD = 46, Ω = 0.78). All five positively worded items were reverse-coded and higher scores indicated higher levels of depression.

Results

Regarding H3, we conducted four independent samples t-tests to examine whether there was a difference in the two samples regarding young adults’ perceived FCPs, MPC, and depression. Results indicated a significant difference in conformity orientation of the two samples, showing that Hungarian young adults reported lower ratings of conformity orientation (M = 2.69, SD = 0.83, Ω = 0.86) than their Chinese counterparts (M = 2.94, SD = 0.79, Ω = 0.90), t (233) = −2.34, p = .02. Meanwhile, Hungarian participants reported lower levels of MPC (M = 1.99, SD = 0.96, Ω = 0.77) than their Chinese counterparts (M = 2.33, SD = 1.08, Ω = 0.84), t (233) = −2.60, p = .01. However, the difference was nonsignificant in the reported levels of conversation orientation between the two samples, t (233) = −.05, p = .96. For young adults’ depression, Hungarian participants reported lower scores (M = 1.57, SD = 0.46, Ω = 0.74) than the Chinese participants (M = 1.94, SD = 0.54, Ω = 0.80), t (207.8) = −5.62, p < .001. Thus, H3a, H3b, and H3c were supported, while H3d was not supported.

We used Model 4 from PROCESS macro for SPSS (Hayes, 2018) with 5,000 Bootstraps to test H1 and H2. For each model estimation, we considered one of the two dimensions of FCPs, conversation orientation or conformity orientation, as the independent variable (X), while controlling for the other variable, MPC as mediator (M), and depression as the dependent variable (Y). Other covariates included age, sex, and culture to control for their possible influence. Figure 1 presents all the path coefficients. Results revealed that conversation orientation was negatively related to depression, b = −.13, 95% CI [−0.204, −0.055], SE = .04, p < .001; while conformity orientation had a nonsignificant direct association with depression, b = .05, [−0.041, 0.133], SE = .04, p = .30. Thus, H1a was supported while H1b was unsupported.

Regarding H2a, results indicated that the indirect relationship between conversation orientation and depression through MPC was nonsignificant, b = −.01, [−0.029, 0.001], SE = .01, p > .05. Supporting H2b, the indirect relationship between conformity orientation and depression through MPC was positive. Specifically, higher reported conformity orientation was associated with higher reported MPC, and increased MPC was associated with higher reported depression, b = .04, [0.004, 0.082], SE = .02, p < .05. Therefore, H2b was supported while H2a was unsupported.

RQ1 examined the moderating role of culture. Results using Model 8 testing moderated mediation (Hayes, 2018) indicated that culture did not significantly moderate the mediation path from conversation orientation to depression through MPC, b = .01, 95% CI [−0.011, 0.035], SE = .01, p > .05 and the path from conformity orientation to depression through MPC, b = .018, [−0.005, 0.049], SE = .01, p > .05.

Discussion

This study extends the application of FCPs theory to the Central and Eastern European and Chinese cultural contexts to understand the direct and indirect associations between FCPs and young adults’ psychological outcomes through MPC. Results indicated that conversation orientation was negatively associated with depression. In other words, young adults reported lower levels of depression as perceived openness of family communication increased. This finding resonates prior studies in that conversation orientation cultivates young adults’ resilience (Dorrance-Hall et al., 2021). However, conversation orientation did not indirectly predict depression through MPC, indicating the existence of alternative explanatory mechanisms such as parental confirmation (Schrodt et al., 2007) that the current study did not examine. The absence of a direct association between conformity orientation and young adults’ depression may reflect the mediation variable explaining most of the variance. Alternatively, it could indicate unexamined moderating or mediating mechanisms, such as whether authority figures are perceived positively or negatively, which may influence communication dynamics in the family (Koerner & Fitzpatrick, 2002).

The present study contributes to cross-cultural research in family communication and parental behaviors by involving young adult samples in Hungary and China, showing that Chinese young adults reported higher levels of conformity orientation, MPC, and depression, compared to their Hungarian counterparts. Both groups reported equally high levels of conversation orientation in their families, demonstrating the general influence of internal modernization and Western values of equality and freedom of speech on modern families worldwide. These findings are also in line with prior cross-cultural research. Shearman and Dumlao (2008), for instance, noted that conversation orientation was favored in the United States, an individualistic society, and Japan, a collectivistic society. It is noticeable that although there were differences regarding conformity orientation, MPC, and depression, culture did not significantly moderate relationships among the direct and indirect associations between FCPs and depression. This finding indicates that the associations of FCPs and MPC with depressive symptoms may be independent of culture although they are influenced by culture (Koerner & Schrodt, 2014; Soenens et al., 2012).

Particularly, our study highlights the critical role that general family systems and mothers play in influencing young adults’ depression. Our findings showed that both conversation orientation and conformity orientation affected depression either directly or indirectly through MPC. Hence, in alignment with our findings, intervention efforts should focus on creating a more conversational and less conformity-oriented communication patterns, thereby creating a healthy family communication environment to directly and indirectly reduce young adults’ depression. The findings are especially valuable for family counselors and therapists working with parents to enhance family dynamics.

There are several limitations in the present study. First, our cross-sectional survey study limits our findings to correlational associations. Future scholars may apply longitudinal and experimental methods to shed light on the causal relationships between parent–child interactions and children's mental well-being. Also, the small sample size (128 Hungarians, 107 Chinese) limits the statistical power and thus the generalizability of our findings, particularly in cross-cultural comparisons of the roles played by FCPs and MPC in youth depression. Additionally, variables, like fathers’ involvement and maternal behaviors in both supportive and unsupportive ways, might build intertwined relationships with FCPs and MPC to impact young adults’ mental health. Future research may involve these variables with a more robust sample size to examine diverse paths from parent–child interactions to children's psychological development. From a cross-cultural comparative perspective, research on parent–child interactions in Central and Eastern Europe is scarce. As such, we call for more scholarly attention in this area.

Our study contributes to the broader understanding of the influence of the general communication environment and parental controlling behaviors on young adults’ mental health. By examining both Hungarian and Chinese contexts, this research enriches our understanding of cultural similarities and differences regarding FCPs, MPC, and youth depression in Hungary and China. Our study illustrates the critical roles played by familial dynamics in shaping child outcomes in both cultural contexts. This study provides practical implications for family interventions aimed at promoting open communication and reducing MPC in the family context to minimize young adults’ depression.

Footnotes

Acknowledgement

The authors extend their gratitude to the editor and reviewers for their valuable suggestions, as well as to all the participants who contributed to this study.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iDs

Xiaoxia Li

Yan Bing Zhang

Author Biographies

Xiaoxia Li is a doctoral student in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Kansas. Her research focuses on intercultural and interpersonal communication and their impact on mental well-being.

Yan Bing Zhang is a professor in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Kansas. She is an intergroup and intercultural communication scholar studying the processes between communication, relationships, social cognition, culture, and identity in face-to-face and mediated contexts.

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