Youth and parental perceptions of parental monitoring and parent-adolescent communication, youth depression, and youth risk behaviors

Data from 752 Bahamian youth and their parents were analyzed to examine the relationships among youth depression with youth risk involvement, parental monitoring, and parent-youth communication. Depressed youth were older, more likely to engage in risk behaviors, and they perceived significantly lower levels of parental monitoring and higher levels of impaired communication than did nondepressed youth. Both depressed and nondepressed youth perceived significantly lower rates of parental monitoring and open communication and higher rates of problem communication than did their parents, but the differences in perceptions of open communication were significantly greater among depressed parent-youth dyads. Depressed youth, youth with past histories of risk behavior, youth reporting higher levels of impaired communication and lower levels of parental monitoring were more likely to anticipate future risk behavior.