Adolescents’ Psychological Inflexibility as a mediator between maternal inflexibility and internalizing problems

Background/Objectives: Internalizing disorders are highly prevalent during adolescence. Previous research has shown that psychological inflexibility (PI) in both adolescents and their parents contributes to internalizing problems. However, how parental and adolescent PI relate to one another in explaining these difficulties remains unclear. The present exploratory study examined whether adolescent PI mediates the relationship between maternal PI and internalizing problems in adolescents. Methods: The study sample included 81 mother–adolescent dyads (80% female adolescents). Mothers completed a general self-report measure of PI, while adolescents completed self-report measures assessing both PI and internalizing problems. Results: The results showed that adolescent PI partially mediated the relationship between maternal PI and internalizing difficulties in female adolescents, whereas the mediation model was not significant for male adolescents. Conclusions: Findings suggest that mothers with high levels of psychological inflexibility may foster similar patterns in their children, particularly in daughters, thereby increasing adolescents’ vulnerability to increased psychological distress.