Mediation analysis results.

Drawing on nationally representative data from the 2018 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), this research examines the mechanisms through which traditional values influence adolescent depressive symptoms via self-esteem. Utilizing Karlson-Holm-Breen (KHB) decomposition analysis with a sample of 4,217 adolescents aged 10−19 years, we found that overall traditional values demonstrated a nonsignificant total effect (β = −0.471, p = 0.116) yet exhibited a significant indirect effect through self-esteem (β = −0.447, p