Adolescent Academic Burden, Parental Involvement, and Long-Term Depression: An Investigation Using Objective Measures

This study explores the relationship between adolescent academic burden and depression in adulthood in China, where academic pressure is a growing concern. It overcomes the limitations of prior research that mainly relied on subjective assessments of academic burden by introducing objective measures such as test frequency, daily study hours, off-school tutoring hours, sleep, and exercise time. Results indicate a significant association between higher academic burden in adolescence and higher depression scores in adulthood (r = 0.112, p < 0.01). Specifically, for each unit increase in academic burden, the odds of experiencing higher depression increase by 20.3% (OR = 1.203, p < 0.001). It is more interesting to find that parental involvement moderated this relationship, with positive parental attitudes negatively correlated with depression (r = -0.320, p < 0.01). Moreover, the interaction between academic burden and positive parental involvement significantly reduced depression risk (r = -0.231, p < 0.01). Additionally, sleep quality and physical activity were found to mitigate the negative psychological effects of academic stress. This study emphasizes the crucial role of positive parental involvement in mitigating the risk of depression associated with academic burden in adulthood. It suggests that fostering supportive parental engagement is essential, while schools and governments should also focus on reducing academic pressure to protect mental health.