This study tested whether covert narcissism and internalized shame sequentially mediate the association between parentification–care and depression, and whether parentification–unfairness moderates this sequential indirect effect. Participants wer...
This study tested whether covert narcissism and internalized shame sequentially mediate the association between parentification–care and depression, and whether parentification–unfairness moderates this sequential indirect effect. Participants were 150 Korean college students (18–26 years) with high parentification (instrumental ≥27 or emotional ≥28). Data were analyzed with SPSS 23.0 and the PROCESS macro (Model 85). The indirect effect of parentification–care on depression through covert narcissism was significant, whereas the indirect effect through internalized shame alone was not. The sequential indirect effect through covert narcissism followed by internalized shame was significant, and the direct effect of parentification–care on depression became nonsignificant when the mediators were included. Moderated sequential mediation was also supported: the conditional sequential indirect effect varied by parentification–unfairness, was nonsignificant at M − 1 SD, and was nonsignificant when parentification–unfairness was below 2.6 in the Johnson–Neyman analysis. These findings indicate that caregiving–related parentification is more strongly linked to depressive symptoms when accompanied by a strong sense of unfairness, highlighting the clinical value of assessing and addressing perceived unfairness among parentified individuals.