Paper Title
Self-Esteem As A Mediator Of The Relationship Between Parenting And Depression

Abstract
This research investigated how self-esteem affected the relationship between incongruent parenting style and symptoms of depression. A total of 400 emerging adults aged 18 to 25 years (M age = 20.37 years) from five universities in Malaysia completed a set of questionnaires. Analysis revealed correlations among the parental care, parental overprotection, self-esteem and depression irrespective of the congruency of maternal and paternal parenting style. Further analysis indicated that parental overprotection was strongly associated with experiencing symptoms of depression, and that this relationship effect was reduced when self-esteem was included in the model. This study indicates that self-esteem is a partial mediator of the relationship between parental overprotection and depression in emerging adults. The findings may be used in interventions designed to improve children�s emotional adjustment. The implications of the findings are discussed in depth. Index Terms� Congruence parenting, Overprotection, Depression, Self-Esteem