To investigate the association between the parent-child relationship with depression among junior high school students, as well as the dual moderating effect of teacher support and gender, so as to provide a reference for depression interventions at family, school, and individual levels.

In November 2024, a cluster-sampling design was used to recruit 1 229 students from two junior high schools in Chengdu, Sichuan Province as participants. The survey employed the Interpersonal Relations Scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 for depression, and the Students' Perceived Teacher Support Behavior Questionnaire. Spearman's rank correlation analyses were used to examine the associations among the parent-child relationship, teacher support, gender, and depression. Through linear regression analysis, the dual moderating effects of teacher support and gender on the association between parent-child relationship and depression in middle school students were evaluated.

Scores for the parent-child relationship and for teacher support among middle school students were (4.03±1.00) and (4.23±0.86), respectively, and the depression score was 1.13 (1.00, 1.63). Parent-child relationships and teacher support showed positive correlations, while both the parent-child relationship and teacher support were negatively correlated with depression among junior high school students (r=0.25, -0.55, -0.29, all P < 0.01). Linear regression analyses showed that teacher support and gender jointly moderated the association between the parent-child relationship and depression. Further simple-slopes analyses revealed that the negative impact of the parent-child relationship on depression was stronger in girls, peaking under low teacher-support conditions (β=-0.61); among boys, a negative effect was also present but weaker (β=-0.48) (both P < 0.05).

Teacher support and gender jointly moderated the association between the parent-child relationship and depression among junior high school students; girls' depression are more closely linked to the quality of the parent-child relationship, while boys are more sensitive to changes in teacher support.