Identifying the Role of Parent-Child Conflict and Intimacy in Chinese Adolescents' Psychological Distress During School Reopening in COVID-19 Pandemic

School reopening during COVID-19 can be a particularly stressful transition for many adolescents. However, little is known about the impact of parent-child relationships on adolescents' mental health during this transition. Using a 2-wave longitudinal design, this research examined the role of parent-child conflict and intimacy in adolescents' psychological distress after school reopening. Immediately before school reopening, 879 Chinese adolescents (mean age = 13.14 years, 51% girls) reported on their parent-child conflict and intimacy. They also reported on their depressive symptoms and anger problems before and 3 months after school reopening. Youth who reported higher levels of parent-child conflict and lower levels of parent-child intimacy before school reopening were more likely to show increased depressive symptoms and anger problems over time. Moreover, the moderating role of parent-child conflict and intimacy in the link between youth's perceived stress toward school reopening and psychological distress was investigated. Specifically, parent-child conflict moderated the impact of youth's perceived stress on their psychological distress, such that greater perceived stress was only linked with more psychological distress over time in families with higher levels of parent-child conflict, but not in families with lower levels of parent-child conflict. Taken together, the findings highlight the important role of parent-child relationships in shaping adolescent's mental health as they return to school, which provides key insights into reducing adolescents' psychological distress during the transition of school reopening in COVID-19 pandemic.