Romantic Functioning and Depressive Symptoms Among Early Adolescent Girls: The Moderating Role of Parental Emotional Availability

Abstract

This study tested associations between adolescent romantic functioning and depressive symptoms and predicted that adolescents with emotionally unavailable parents would be most likely to show an association between poor romantic functioning and depressive symptoms. Data collected from 80 early adolescent nonreferred girls (average age of 13.45; SD = .68) and their mothers supported predictions. A higher frequency of romantic experiences (e.g., going on dates) and poor romantic competence were each associated with higher levels of current depressive symptoms. Moreover, these associations were most strong for girls with emotionally unavailable parents.