An investigation of the mediator effect of shame in the relationship between parentification and depression among late adolescents

Parentification is defined as a role change between parent and child, in which the children undertake on parental roles that are not appropriate for their age. As a result of this role change, it was thought that there might be significant relationships between the concept of parentification and the concepts of depression and shame. This study aimed to examine the mediating role of shame in the relationship between parentification and depression in late adolescence individuals. The secondary purpose of the study is to examine whether the variables of parentification, depression and shame differ through sociodemographic variables. The sample of the study consisted of 212 participants between the ages of 18-21. Data were collected using the Sociodemographic Characteristics and Information Form, Parentification Inventory, the shame sub-dimension of the Trait Shame and Guilt Scale (SUSÖ) and the depression sub-dimension of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21). Data were collected face-to-face and online. The analysis of data in the research was done with the SPSS program. The hypotheses of the research were analyzed with t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Pearson correlation, hierarchical regression and PROCESS Model. As a result of the analysis, it was determined that the parentification levels of the first children were significantly higher than the middle and last children. It was found that the shame levels of the participants with a low socioeconomic level were higher than the shame levels of the participants with a middle and high socioeconomic level. It was concluded that the shame variable predicted depression positively and significantly. Finally, it was found that parentification affect depression through shame. Parentification increases the level of shame and the increased level of shame causes depression. According to the findings, it was concluded that the concepts of depression and shame should also be addressed while studying the concept of parentification in a clinical context. Different therapy techniques are mentioned that should be used in the relationship of parentification with depression and shame. Also, it has been suggested that the concept of parentification should be studied more and more visible in our country. Keywords: Late Adolescence, Parentification, Depression, Shame