Effects of parents-adolescent relationship, school engagement, and maladaptive coping on depression among adolescents from divorced families in Malaysia

It is evidenced that adolescents from divorced families are at greater risk of developing in depression. However, the mechanisms between parental divorce and depression remain unclear. Hence, the present study aimed to determine the relationships between parent-adolescent relationship (mother-adolescent relationship and father-adolescent relationship), school engagement, maladaptive coping, and depression among adolescents from divorced families in Malaysia.The respondents of the present study consisted of 480 secondary school students aged from 13 to 18 years old. They were located from Selangor, Kedah, Johor, and Pahang through multistage sampling technique. The revisited version of Inventory for Parent and Peer Attachment (Armsden & Greenberg, 1987) was used to measure parent-adolescent relationship. School Engagement Scale (Fredricks, Blumenfeld, & Paris, 2004) was used to measure school engagement. Brief COPE (Yusoff, Low, & Yip, 2010) was used to measure maladaptive coping. The Beck Youth Inventories – Depression Inventory (Beck, Beck, & Jolly, 2001) was used to measure depression. All instruments were tested for reliability and validity. Data were analyzed with Statistical Package for Social Science version 20.0 (SPSS) and Amos 18. All models were evaluated based on chi-square (χ2), non-normed fit index (TLI), comparative fit index (CFI), root mean square error of estimation (RMSEA), and relative chi-square (χ2/df).The results of Pearson correlation analysis revealed significant relationships between mother-adolescent relationship, father-adolescent relationship, school engagement, maladaptive coping, and depression among adolescents. The measurement model was tested and displayed well fit to the data. Given the validated measurement model, structural model was developed and tested with the same sets of fit indices. The model was modified by reviewing the parameter estimates. Consequently, the final model revealed that maladaptive coping partially mediates the relationship between mother-adolescent relationship and depression. The result also revealed that father-adolescent relationship indirectly influence depression through maladaptive coping. Maladaptive coping fully mediates the relationship between father-adolescent relationship and depression. The current result also revealed that maladaptive coping partially mediates the relationship between school engagement and depression.The current findings highlight the significant role of family and school contexts in the development of depression among adolescents. Adolescents who failed to maintain close relationship with parents are more likely to employ maladaptive coping in handling stress, which will in turn increase the risk for them to develop in depression. Practically, divorced parents should maintain affectionate relationship with their adolescent-aged children, while educating them for better choice of coping strategy. On the other hand, adolescents who disengage from school are at greater risk to develop depression. Therefore, related authorities and schools should give more attention to students from divorced families; and closely monitor their commitment in school.

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