Support Can Be Complicated: Sisters, Parental Control, and Depression in Latina Young Women
Killoren, S. E., Rivero, A., Boron, D., Payton, J., Cord, C., Campione-Barr, N., & Gilligan, M. (2025). Parents’ psychological control and Latina young women’s depressive symptoms: Examining the role of perceived dyadic coping behaviors from sisters. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 43(1), 330-352. https://doi.org/10.1177/02654075241312691 (Original work published 2026)
When young Latina women turn to their sisters to help them cope with controlling parents, that support doesn’t buffer them from depression as expected, and under some conditions may be linked with higher depressive symptoms. This finding was surprising because strong social support is usually considered protective against depression. Young Latina women experience high rates of depressive symptoms, and previous research has shown that psychological control from parents (e.g., guilt, criticism, love withdrawal) is associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms. Therefore, understanding family influences, especially in the Latino/x/e community, is critical.
This study examined whether sister relationships could weaken (be protective) or strengthen (make worse) the negative effects of parents’ psychological control. Instead of finding a buffering effect, the study found that sisters’ coping support did not reduce the link between parental control and depression. Furthermore, supportive behaviors sometimes corresponded with stronger, not weaker, associations between mothers’ control and depressive symptoms.
Researchers recruited 195 Latina young women through online surveys to measure perceptions of parental psychological control (from mothers and fathers), sisters’ coping support (positive and negative responses when young woman discloses her stressful experiences), and depressive symptoms. Most participants (about 64%) were of Mexican origin.
The findings highlight that close family relationships, including sibling support, are complex: when supportive conversations focus repeatedly on stress (especially related to parental control), they may unintentionally reinforce stress or co-rumination that is linked with elevated depressive symptoms. Negative responses from sisters (e.g., dismissiveness) add risk rather than protect well-being.
The public should know that support from sisters isn’t always protective, especially when it involves unhelpful patterns of coping with stress. For mental health professionals collaborating with Latina clients and families, this research emphasizes how cultural and family processes (like sibling coping support and parental control) intersect with mental health. Practitioners should consider the larger family system, not just parent-child interactions and recognize that cultural values emphasizing family closeness can be both protective and risky depending on how communication and coping occur.