Parents’ Valuing Happiness and Teen Depression: The Mediating Effect of Teens’ Value of Happiness

Anna Moody*, Isabella Camerlin, and Amy L. Gentzler

Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506

Presentation Category: Behavioral & Social Sciences (Poster Presentation #76)

Student’s Major: Psychology

One-third of adolescent girls and one-fifth of adolescent boys in American are suffering with high depressive symptoms (Twenge, 2020). If the roots of these symptoms can be determined, it is possible that depressive symptoms in teens could be reduced or prevented. Research has found that excessively valuing happiness is associated with higher depressive symptoms in both adults (Mauss et al., 2011) and adolescents (Gentzler et al., 2019). Thus, it is important to determine how adolescents develop an obsession with their happiness. Because teens may be learning how to think about happiness from their parents, this study investigated if parental value of happiness is related to teens’ value of happiness, and as a result, teens’ depressive symptoms. This study included 288 teens (51.5% female, age 14-16), 238 mothers, and 90 fathers who completed questionnaires measuring value of happiness and depressive symptoms. The results indicated that both mothers and fathers who more excessively value their own happiness have teens who report more depressive symptoms, in part because their teens also excessively value their happiness. Implications for the study include applications in a clinical settings and prevention efforts focused on helping teens develop healthier beliefs about happiness.

Funding: NIH

Program/mechanism supporting research/creative efforts: a WVU 497-level course