How Does Parents’ Psychopathology Associate with Parent-Adolescent Communication Related and Unrelated to Sex?

Research has highlighted parent-adolescent communication as a potential protective factor associated with a decreased likelihood of adolescents engaging in risky behavior. In the present study, the link between parents’ psychopathology and parent-adolescent communication quality (related and unrelated to sex) was examined, while taking into consideration the mediating effects of family-cohesion, family-adaptability, and perceived family-support. A sample of 275 Israeli parent-adolescent dyads–mother (M_age = 45.48, SD = 5.45); father (M_age = 48.06, SD = 7.30); and adolescent (M_age = 16.23, SD = 1.18)–completed a set of questionnaires, and structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the responses. The findings revealed that higher maternal-psychopathology was linked to lower family-cohesion, which in turn was linked to lower perceived family-support and to lower parent-adolescent communication (related and unrelated to sex). Higher paternal-psychopathology was linked to lower family-adaptability, which in turn was linked to lower parent-adolescent communication (unrelated to sex). The findings of this study highlight the need to consider both family functioning and perceived family support in order to understand the influence of parents’ psychopathology on parent-adolescent communication quality.