Overparenting blurs neural self-other integration during naturalistic parent-adolescent interactions and downgrades adolescent mental health

Overparenting blurs neural self-other integration during naturalistic parent-adolescent interactions and downgrades adolescent mental health | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Overparenting blurs neural self-other integration during naturalistic parent-adolescent interactions and downgrades adolescent mental health Yafeng Pan, Yuanyuan Li, Hengyue Ran, Song Lin, Nuannuan Zhou, and 5 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9100371/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Adolescence is a critical developmental period during which neural systems supporting social connection mature, with the parent–child bond serving as a central scaffold. Rising cultural and economic pressures have intensified overparenting (OP), which is associated with adolescent mental health risks, yet its underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In a three-year longitudinal study, we examined 74 parent–adolescent dyads stratified by OP levels. Adolescents from high-OP families reported greater anxiety and poorer relationship quality. During a joint Simon task, both groups showed self-other integration. OP significantly modulated interbrain alignment between parents and adolescents associated with self-other integration during naturalistic interactions. Granger causality analyses further revealed that only in low-OP dyads did stronger adolescent-to-parent neural influence relate to lower anxiety and depression and higher life satisfaction. These findings reveal a dual pathway of risk and resilience: OP undermines adolescent well-being, whereas autonomy-supportive contexts promote adolescent-driven neural influence that supports psychological health. Biological sciences/Psychology Biological sciences/Neuroscience/Social neuroscience Health sciences/Diseases/Psychiatric disorders/Depression Health sciences/Diseases/Psychiatric disorders/Anxiety Biological sciences/Neuroscience/Cognitive neuroscience overparenting parent-adolescent relationships self-other integration fNIRS hyperscanning mental health Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 Main As a Chinese saying goes, “ There is a kind of cold that comes from your mother thinking you are cold ”. This vividly captures the nature of overparenting (OP). In Chinese culture, this behavior is often epitomized by the phrase “doing it for your own good”, reflecting a benevolent intention where excessive involvement is framed as a moral and emotional necessity 1 . Over the past two decades, OP has drawn increasing attention across psychology, sociology, and family studies 2–6 . It is broadly defined as a developmentally inappropriate parenting style marked by excessive involvement, control, and support that exceed adolescents’ actual developmental needs 4,7 . Often dubbed “helicopter parenting,” OP is characterized by parents overinvolvement in their children’s lives. While OP is often motivated by parental affection and concern, theoretical perspectives consistently highlight its potential risks. From the lens of ecological systems theory 8 , the family represents a crucial microsystem in which inappropriate parenting behaviors directly shape adolescents’ mental health 9,10 . Family systems theory further emphasizes that healthy development relies on maintaining clear generational boundaries within the parent-child subsystem 11 . Within the Chinese cultural context, in contrast to Western cultural contexts that tend to emphasize autonomy and self-responsibility in adulthood, strong expectations are placed on parents to remain responsible for their children’s success and well-being across the life course 12 . Such cultural expectations foster strong intergenerational bonds, within which parental overcontrol may be interpreted as an extension of parental care and duty 13 . However, when these boundaries blur, families can become enmeshed, a relational pattern manifested as overinvolvement and intrusion that undermines adolescents’ autonomy and individuation, increasing vulnerability to anxiety and depression 2,14 . Empirical studies consistently link OP to various maladaptive outcomes, including internalizing and externalizing symptoms such as school burnout, anxiety, and reduced self-efficacy 15–18 . Recent social and economic transformations have intensified OP phenomenon 19–22 . Adolescents increasingly perceive their parents as more demanding and critical than previous generations, a trend partly driven by rising inequality, insecurity, and declining social mobility. These structural pressures heighten parental anxiety and reinforce intensive parenting norms that valorize heavy emotional, temporal, and financial investment in children 23–27 . Consequently, OP has become both more prevalent and socially normative, posing urgent implications for adolescents’ mental health and parent-child relationship. Most studies examining the impact of OP on parent-child relationships rely on self-report questionnaires 28–31 , which primarily capture subjective perceptions but overlook implicit processes during real-time interactions. This limitation is particularly salient in the Chinese cultural context, where OP is not only highly prevalent but also socially sanctioned as an expression of care and responsibility 32 . Within this cultural framework, parents are viewed as authoritative guides whose lifelong sense of responsibility is reciprocally linked to children’s expectations of filial obedience. Consequently, behaviors that might be considered intrusive in Western contexts may instead be interpreted as expressions of responsible or “good” parenting in China 33 . Cross-cultural evidence suggests that the psychological consequences of OP may differ across societies: whereas Western studies typically emphasize its detrimental effects on autonomy and adjustment 5 , findings from East Asian contexts are more mixed, with some adolescents interpreting parental overinvolvement as care rather than control 34,35 . Such cultural divergence underscores the need to move beyond self-reported experiences toward objective behavioral and neural measures that can reveal how OP manifests in actual parent–child coordination. Understanding these moment-to-moment interactional dynamics is essential for clarifying whether OP represents an adaptive or maladaptive form of involvement within different sociocultural environments. The joint Simon paradigm provides an ideal behavioral tool to address this gap. In this dyadic choice-reaction task 36 , two participants jointly perform a Go/No-go task, each responding to an assigned stimulus while ignoring their partner’s. Reaction times are typically faster and more accurate when stimulus and response locations are congruent than when they are incongruent, with this difference constituting the Joint Simon Effect (JSE). A larger JSE reflects stronger self-other integration, indicating that one’s partner’s task has been incorporated into one’s own action representation 36–38 . Applying this paradigm to parent-child dyads allows for a behavioral quantification of coordination: moderate self-other integration may facilitate co-regulation, whereas excessive integration, analogous to enmeshment, may impair coordination. Beyond behavioral dynamics, inter-brain synchronization (IBS) provides a neural index of parent-child alignment. With the development of hyperscanning technique, researchers can simultaneously record brain activity from interacting individuals, enabling the study of IBS during social coordination or interactions 39,40 . In infants, face-to-face interactions such as toy play elicit synchronized prefrontal and parietal activation between infants and adults, with IBS closely linked to eye contact, joint attention, and prosodic features of speech 41 . In school-aged children and adolescents, higher IBS, especially within the temporoparietal junction (TPJ), has been linked to cooperative engagement and positive interaction quality 42 . Contextual factors also modulate this synchrony: IBS predicts stronger interaction quality when parents provide emotional support but not when such support is lacking 43 . Naturalistic paradigms further confirm robust parent-child IBS during free play 44 , reinforcing the notion that IBS serves as a neural marker of social interaction quality, dynamically shaped by parenting style and relational context. Given the importance of the distributed fronto-temporo-parietal network in these processes, the present study focuses on IBS within this network as a key neural signature of parent-adolescent interaction. Survey-based studies involving parent-adolescent dyads show that parents’ reports of OP often diverge from adolescents’ perception of autonomy. Parents tend to adjust their practices (e.g., providing less tangible assistance but more advice management) according to their own judgments rather than their child’s actual autonomy needs, reflecting a parent-driven schema 45 . Moreover, discrepancies themselves carry psychological significance: when adolescents perceive more overprotection than their parents report, they display greater externalizing problems and autonomy frustration, with the latter mediating the relationship between perceived incongruence and maladjustment 46 . However, while these dyadic perception discrepancies highlight an imbalance in parent-child dynamics, static self-reports cannot resolve the real-time directionality of these interactions. Specifically, it remains unclear whether parental practices actively shape adolescent responses in line with a parent-driven schema, or if adolescents’ characteristics continually elicit parental control. To capture these dynamic, bidirectional processes, analytic approaches must move beyond static associations to estimate directional influences within dyadic interactions. Granger causality analysis (GCA) is well suited to this aim, as it assesses how one partner’s neural activity temporally predicts the other’s 46 . Prior hyperscanning studies have successfully applied GCA to reveal information flow between interacting individuals 47,48 . Building on this work, the present study integrates IBS and GCA within the joint Simon paradigm to examine both overall neural alignment and directional information flow in real-time parent-adolescent interactions. With this multi-person neuroscience approach, we tested how OP shapes parent-adolescent interactions at both behavioral and neural levels, and how these dyadic dynamics relate to adolescent mental health. Results We first stratified parent–adolescent dyads into groups based on adolescent-reported OP scores obtained from a standardized questionnaire. Adolescents’ mental health (i.e., anxiety, depression, and life satisfaction) and perceived parent–child relationship measures (i.e., self-other overlap and relationship quality) were then assessed annually over two consecutive years. Having identified OP-related differences in these longitudinal indices, we investigated the underlying behavioral and neural mechanisms using fNIRS hyperscanning in a parent–adolescent Joint Simon Task ( Fig. 1a ). The Joint Simon Effect (JSE) was computed as a behavioral measure of self-other integration, while IBS was quantified separately for congruent and incongruent trials. To characterize directional information flow, we further applied Granger causality (GC) analyses to estimate parent-to-adolescent and adolescent-to-parent neural information flow. Primary analyses examined group (OP level) and condition (congruency) effects on JSE, IBS and GC, followed by correlation analyses linking behavioral and neural indices with mental health outcomes ( Fig. 1b ). Overparenting relates to lower relationship quality and higher adolescent anxiety All psychological and relational measures were adolescent-reported, with higher scores indicating greater symptom severity (for depression and anxiety) or higher perceived quality/closeness (for life satisfaction, self-other overlap, and relationship quality). Across the adolescent sample, depression scores increased ( t (63) = -3.30, p = 0.002) and life satisfaction decreased ( t (63) = 4.14, p < 0.001) from the first to the second year, whereas anxiety scores and relationship measures (self-other overlap and relationship quality) showed no significant changes (| t s| 0.08). Both high- and low-OP groups exhibited this same longitudinal pattern, with significant increases in depression (high-OP: t (33) = -2.29, p = 0.03; low-OP: t (29) = -2.36, p = 0.03) and decreases in life satisfaction (high-OP: t (29) = 2.32, p = 0.03; low-OP: t (33) = 3.61, p = 0.001), but stable anxiety and relationship scores (| t s| 0.15). These changes likely reflect increasing academic stress associated with grade advancement. Accordingly, the two annual assessments were averaged to yield more stable indices for subsequent analyses. Based on the averaged data, adolescents in the low-OP group reported greater self-other overlap with their mothers than those in the high-OP group ( t (62) = 2.23, p = 0.03, Fig. 2a ), with a marginal trend observed for fathers ( t (62) = 1.95, p = 0.06, Fig. 2b ). Likewise, perceived parent–adolescent relationship quality was significantly higher in the low-OP group ( t (62) = 2.31, p = 0.03, Fig. 2c ). These findings suggest that adolescents exposed to higher levels of OP perceive their relationships with parents as more distant and lower in quality. Turning to mental health, adolescents in the high-OP group reported significantly greater anxiety than those in the low-OP group ( t (62) = -2.32, p = 0.02, Fig. 2d ). Although differences in depression ( t (62) = -1.57, p = 0.12, Fig. 2e ) and life satisfaction ( t (62) = -1.64, p = 0.11, Fig. 2f ) did not reach statistical significance, both trends indicated poorer well-being among high-OP adolescents. Taken together, these results indicate that OP is associated with lower relational closeness and higher anxiety, pointing to its specific affective risks during adolescence. Self-other integration associates with relationship quality only under high overparenting We next examined behavioral signatures of self-other integration within parent–adolescent dyads using a Joint Simon task, which indexes how individuals distinguish and coordinate their own and others’ action roles (e.g., identifying “my target” vs. “the other’s target”). Across all dyads, we observed a robust Joint Simon Effect (JSE), with slower reaction times on incongruent than congruent trials (low-OP group: t ( 69) = 8.45, p < 0.001, high-OP group: t (77) = 9.00, p < 0.001, Fig. 3a ). This classic interference effect reflects the additional cognitive effort required to resolve conflicts between stimulus location and the partner’s target, capturing a basic level of self-other integration during joint action. Importantly, the overall JSE did not differ between the high- and low-OP groups ( F (1, 146) = 0.35, p = 0.56, = 0.002, Fig. 3a ), suggesting a comparable baseline capacity for self-other integration across dyads. However, the functional significance of this integration diverged sharply between groups. Among high-OP dyads, larger JSE was positively associated with adolescents’ perceived relationship quality ( r = 0.41, p = 0.03, Fig. 3b ), whereas no such relationship emerged in the low-OP group ( r = -0.02, p = 0.91). JSE was unrelated to other mental health indices (depression, anxiety, and life satisfaction) or to another relational measure (self-other overlap, all p s > 0.10). Parent–adolescent dyads exhibit OP-dependent IBS during real-time interaction We examined IBS during real-time parent–adolescent interaction in a Joint Simon task using fNIRS hyperscanning. In the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), a main effect of condition emerged: IBS was significantly greater during congruent than incongruent trials across all dyads (corrected p = 0.02, Fig. 4a ), indicating enhanced neural alignment that supports coordinated action. Critically, OP modulated task-dependent IBS in the sensorimotor cortex (SMC; corrected p = 0.04, Fig. 4b ). Post hoc comparisons revealed dissociated patterns across groups: in low-OP dyads, IBS of SMC was significantly greater during incongruent than congruent trials ( p = 0.008), reflecting an interesting neural self-other integration pattern. However, this pattern was absent in high-OP dyads ( p = 0.15). These findings suggest that OP alters neural dynamics of self-other integration (congruent vs. incongruent), with flexible, context-sensitive SMC coupling evident only in the low-OP group. Directional parent–adolescent information flow depends on OP We next assessed the directionality of neural information flow using Granger causality (GC) analyses in the IFG and SMC, testing both between-group (high- vs. low-OP) differences and within-group asymmetries (parent-to-adolescent vs. adolescent-to-parent). In the IFG, parent-to-adolescent GC was significantly greater in high-OP dyads than in low-OP dyads ( p = 0.01, corrected p = 0.048, Fig. 5a ), whereas no group difference emerged for adolescent-to-parent GC ( p = 0.18, Fig. 5a ). In the SMC, between-group differences were not significant for either direction (both p s > 0.27, Fig. 5b ). Directional parent–adolescent information flow associates with self-other integration Having established distinct neural signatures (IBS and GC) across OP groups, we next examined their associations with behavioral self-other integration (indexed by the JSE). IBS analyses revealed no significant associations with JSE, either when examining condition-dependent IBS modulation in individual regions (IFG or SMC) or when stratified by OP group (all | r s| 0.05). In contrast, GC analyses identified a distinct relationship. In the IFG, parent-to-adolescent GC positively correlated with JSE in the overall sample ( r = 0.34, p = 0.04, Fig. 6a ) and in the high-OP group ( r = 0.27, p = 0.03, Fig. 6b ). No other GC–JSE associations reached significance across regions or directions (all | r s| 0.51). Directional parent–adolescent information flow associates with adolescent mental health To elucidate the functional relevance of the observed neural patterns, we next tested whether IBS and GC were associated with adolescents’ mental health outcomes. Analyses were conducted separately for each region (IFG, SMC) and OP group. Significant associations emerged only for adolescent-to-parent GC in the low-OP group. Specifically, higher IFG adolescent-to-parent GC was linked to lower anxiety ( r = –0.47, corrected p = 0.03; Fig. 7a ), lower depression ( r = –0.42, corrected p = 0.049; Fig. 7b ), and higher life satisfaction ( r = 0.51, corrected p = 0.03; Fig. 7c ). Similarly, stronger SMC adolescent-to-parent GC was associated with lower depression ( r = –0.48, corrected p = 0.03; Fig. 7d ) and greater life satisfaction ( r = 0.68, corrected p = 0.001; Fig. 7e ). No other associations were significant. These findings underscore the adaptive role of adolescent-to-parent neural influence in supporting adolescents’ psychological well-being within low-OP relational contexts. Discussion This study demonstrates that OP shapes adolescent development through dual pathways of risk and compensation, spanning psychological, behavioral, and neural domains. Consistent with prior research, adolescents from high-OP families reported greater anxiety and lower relationship quality, highlighting the emotional costs of intrusive parental control 49,50 . At the same time, our behavioral and neural findings suggest that parent-adolescent dyads do not passively experience these risks. Instead, they appear to engage adaptive adjustments during real-time interaction that may temporarily buffer relational strain. Specifically, stronger self–other integration was linked to better perceived relationship quality only in high-OP dyads, and distinct patterns of directional neural information flow further differentiated compensatory coordination from autonomy-supportive interaction. Together, these findings reveal a dynamic interplay between developmental risk and adaptive regulation in parent-adolescent relationships.-. These compensatory patterns are best understood within the sociocultural context of Chinese families. Rooted in Confucian traditions, Chinese parenting norms emphasize interdependence, filial piety, and family honor, casting intensive parental involvement and guidance as expressions of care and moral duty rather than intrusion 12 . Amid rapid socioeconomic transformation, intense educational competition, and the enduring influence of the one-child policy, these values have amplified, fueling increasingly higher levels of parental engagement 26,51 . Within this cultural landscape, OP may thus assume a dual function: while it imposes psychological strain and undermines adolescents’ autonomy, it also operates as a culturally sanctioned strategy to preserve family cohesion and promote academic and social achievement. This inherent tension between protection and constraint helps explain why high-OP dyads in our study displayed both emotional costs and compensatory behavioral and neural adaptations. In essence, what might be labeled as "overcontrol" in Western contexts may, within East Asia cultural frameworks, represent a normative form of parental involvement that elicits compensatory behavioral and neural adjustments. Importantly, recent cross-cultural research suggests that intensive parenting may carry different psychological meanings across cultural contexts. In Chinese families, strong parental investment in children is often interpreted as a moral responsibility and a central component of parental identity 12 , and fulfilling this responsibility can generate emotional rewards such as meaning, purpose, and a sense of successful parenthood 52,53 . These culturally embedded rewards may partially offset the stress and demands associated with intensive parenting 52 , thereby altering the psychological dynamics through which overinvolvement operates within families. As a result, adolescents may simultaneously experience parental involvement as both constraining and supportive, producing a relational environment characterized by ambivalence rather than purely negative effects 20,54 . Within such contexts, adolescents may adopt adaptive strategies to maintain relational harmony, which is an important goal in interdependent cultural systems, by increasing behavioral attunement and coordination with their parents during interaction 20 . The compensatory self–other integration observed in the present study may thus reflect adolescents’ efforts to sustain relationship functioning despite reduced autonomy support. At the behavioral level, all dyads showed robust self-other integration during real-time interaction, as indexed by the JSE. Notably, only in high-OP dyads did stronger self-other integration associate with higher perceived relationship quality. This pattern suggests that self-other integration functions as a context-dependent compensatory mechanism: in secure relationships (low OP), integration is less essential for maintaining closeness, whereas in strained relationships (high OP), enhanced integration may temporarily restore interpersonal coherence, clarifying role boundaries and alleviating tension. Importantly, this association was specific to perceived relationship quality and did not generalize to broader well-being indicators such as anxiety or life satisfaction. Thus, the observed behavioral compensation under high OP appears targeted and situational, rather than reflecting a more generalized form of psychological resilience. At the neural level, our findings focused on the IFG and SMC, regions integral to the inhibitory control network. The Joint Simon Task employed here constitutes a social variant of Go/No-Go paradigm, in which the IFG and SMC (including supplementary motor areas, SMA, and pre-supplementary motor areas, pre-SMA) serve as functional hubs for suppressing inappropriate responses and coordinating action execution. Converging evidence from neuroimaging and coactivation-based parcellation studies indicates that the IFG is consistently recruited during Go/No-Go tasks, where it supports response inhibition, conflict monitoring, and regulation of motor and speech-related actions, highlighting its central role in cognitive control 55 . In contrast, the SMC contributes to action preparation, initiation, and monitoring: the SMA proper underlies motor readiness and execution, whereas the pre-SMA mediates higher-order processes such as action selection, task switching, and inhibitory control 56 . Together, these findings delineate a functional division in which the IFG primarily mediates response inhibition, while the SMC supports intentional action planning. These distinct roles help explain our neural findings, revealing that OP not only heightens parent-driven inhibitory control in the IFG, but also impairs real-time motor coordination in the SMC. The IBS and GC analyses revealed two distinct forms of brain-to-brain coordination. IBS was robust across groups and conditions, but was unrelated to either behavioral JSE or mental health outcomes, suggesting that IBS reflects a baseline neural alignment insufficient to explain adaptive variation. By contrast, directional neural information flow, as captured by GC, proved functionally significant. Among high-OP dyads, stronger parent-to-adolescent GC in the IFG was associated with both greater self-other integration (indexed by JSE) and lower adolescent anxiety. This pattern likely reflects a compensatory neural mechanism: whereby clearer parental signaling temporarily stabilizes dyadic coordination when spontaneous relational attunement is weakened. However, such top-down dominance may also reinforce dependency and constrain adolescents’ autonomy over time. Conversely, in low-OP dyads, beneficial effects emerged for adolescent-to-parent GC in both IFG and SMC, where adolescent-driven GC was associated with fewer internalizing symptoms and higher life satisfaction. These results underscore a functional shift from compensatory parental control to autonomy-supportive reciprocity: adaptive neural coordination, and by extension adolescent well-being, arises when influence flows from adolescent to parent rather than from parent to adolescent. Taken together, our findings support a multi-level model of compensatory regulation. OP undermines relationship quality and elevates adolescent anxiety, yet dyads engage behavioral and neural adjustments (notably, enhanced self-other integration facilitated by parent-to-adolescent information flow) to buffer relational strain. Although such compensation provides short-term relief, it is fragile, energetically costly, and may be maladaptive over time. In contrast, low-OP dyads exemplify a healthier developmental trajectory, wherein adolescent-driven information flow promotes autonomy and mental health directly. This dissociation further clarifies the distinct roles of the neural signatures examined: IBS reflects baseline alignment, whereas directional GC determines whether dyads adaptively foster resilience or defensively maintain cohesion 47,57,58 . Several limitations warrant consideration. First, while psychological measures were collected longitudinally, neural dynamics were assessed at a single time point, constraining inferences about how compensation unfolds over development. Second, the fNIRS converge was limited to predefined cortical regions, omitting broader networks that may also contribute to parent-adolescent interactions. Third, the sample consisted of Chinese adolescents, raising questions about the cross-cultural generalizability of the findings 59 . Finally, while correlational analyses reveal associations between neural directionality and mental health, causal mechanisms remain to be tested using experimental or intervention designs. This study reveals that OP shapes adolescent development through a dynamic interplay of disruption and compensation. While OP compromises relationship quality and elevates anxiety, parent–adolescent dyads engage adaptive behavioral (self-other integration) and neural (directional parent-to-adolescent information flow) mechanisms that mitigate these adverse effects. By delineating these cross-level processes, we advance understanding of how OP affects adolescent mental health and provide a foundation for targeted interventions. Crucially, our findings suggest that even strained parent–adolescent relationships retain the capacity for resilience, provided that adaptive behavioral and neural strategies are engaged. Methods Participants The final sample included 74 parent–adolescent dyads (one parent [mother or father] and one high-school-aged adolescent; 54 female adolescents; mean age = 16.08 years, SD = 0.45; range = 15.35-17.73 years). The participating parent was the mother in 69 dyads and the father in 5 dyads. Parents were, on average, 44.62 years old (SD = 3.50; range = 36.72–55.25 years), of Chinese origin, and highly educated (71.6% held a university degree). All participants were right-handed and had no history of neurological or psychiatric disorders. Families were recruited from a high school in Hangzhou, China, as part of an ongoing longitudinal project, through school-based announcements and information sessions. Adolescents were enrolled after parents provided written informed consent. Parents and adolescents received a gift for participation. The study received approval from the ethics committee of Zhejiang University (Nos. 2025010 and 2022014). Study design This investigation was embedded within a multi-year longitudinal project tracking Chinese parents’ OP and adolescents’ psychological adjustment. The present study combined two annual waves of questionnaire assessment with a laboratory fNIRS hyperscanning experiment to examine how OP relates to the neural self-other integration during real-time interaction and adolescent mental health. Measures included in the current study were selected to address hypotheses concerning OP, parent–child relationship quality (adolescents’ perceived self-other overlap and relationship quality), and mental health outcomes (anxiety, depression, and life satisfaction). Longitudinal questionnaire assessment. Adolescents from two cohorts were followed across two annual waves. The first cohort was assessed in 2023 and 2024, and the second cohort in 2024 and 2025. OP was assessed using the validated Chinese version of the Overparenting Scale 60 , in which adolescents rated the extent to which their primary caregiver (mother or father) engaged in OP behaviors over the past 12 months (e.g., " I think he/she is too overly involved in my life", "I feel like my he/she sometimes smothers me with his/her attention") on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree); higher scores indicate greater perceived OP. Dyads were classified as high-OP and low-OP groups using a median split. Parent–adolescent overlap was indexed using the Inclusion of Other in the Self Scale 61 , in which seven pairs of increasingly overlapping circles represent the perceived closeness; higher scores indicate greater closeness and shorter psychological distance. Mental health outcomes were measured using validated 10-item short forms of the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) 62,63 and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) 64 , with higher scores indicating greater anxiety or depressive symptoms, respectively. Life satisfaction was measured with the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) 65 ; higher scores indicate greater life satisfaction. Scores were computed following published procedures and averaged across the two waves to index stable individual differences. Internal consistency was satisfactory for all measures (Cronbach’s α > 0.76). All the questionnaires used in this study can be found in Table S1-S7 . Laboratory fNIRS hyperscanning experiment. Conducted in 2024 (for the first cohort) and 2025 (for the second cohort), the laboratory hyperscanning session involved parent–adolescent dyads sitting side-by-side at a desk. The Joint Simon task was programmed in E-Prime 3.0 (Psychology Software Tools, Pittsburgh, PA). Target stimuli were red or green squares (3 × 3 cm) presented randomly to the left or right of fixation. The left-seated participant responded to an assigned target color by pressing the "Z" key; the right-seated participant responded to an assigned target color by pressing the "3" key on the numeric keypad. Color–response mappings were counterbalanced across dyads. Spatial congruency was manipulated by aligning vs. misaligning stimulus location and response key (congruent vs. incongruent). Each dyad completed 16 practice trials followed by three experimental blocks of 48 trials for a total of 144 trials. Trial order within each block was randomized, with a 120 s inter-block interval. Each trial began with an 800 ms fixation, followed by a 1000 ms target presentation. Participants were instructed to respond as quickly and accurately as possible within the 1000 ms response window; late or incorrect responses were coded as errors. The inter-trial interval was jittered between 7000–9000 ms. fNIRS data acquisition Hemodynamic signals in each dyad were simultaneously recorded using a single NirSmart-6000A system (Danyang Huichuang Medical Equipment Co., Ltd., China). Each participant wore an optode probe set consisting of 19 sources and 13 detectors, configured to measure 39 channels (inter-optode distance = 30 mm), covering the prefrontal and bilateral temporo-parietal regions. The T3 and Cz locations in the 10–20 international system served as reference points for probe placement. These regions have been previously implicated in parent-child bonding and interactions in developmental fNIRS hyperscanning studies 44,66–68 . Each source emitted light at two wavelengths (730 and 850 nm), and raw intensity signals were recorded at 11 Hz. The correspondence between NIRS channels and cortical locations was determined using the virtual registration method implemented in the NFRI toolbox 69 , providing probabilistic mapping of optode locations to standard brain coordinates (e.g., MNI space). Data analysis Behavioral data analysis For each participant, mean reaction time (RT) for correct responses and accuracy (ACC) were calculated as behavioral indices. Trials with incorrect responses or missing responses were excluded from RT analyses. To reduce the influence of outliers, trials with RTs exceeding ±2.5 standard deviations from the participant’s mean were removed 70 . RT and ACC were then averaged separately for each experimental condition 66 . fNIRS data analysis Preprocessing. fNIRS data were preprocessed using the Homer2 toolbox 71 . Raw optical intensity signals were first converted to optical density (OD) using the hmrIntensity2OD function. Poor-quality channels were identified and removed using enPruneChannels 72 . Motion artifacts were detected and corrected using hmrMotionArtifactByChannel and hmrMotionCorrectSpline 73,74 . The OD data were then band-pass filtered (0.01–0.5 Hz) and converted to oxyhemoglobin (HbO) and deoxyhemoglobin (HbR) using hmrOD2Conc . Finally, a wavelet‐based denoising method was applied to remove superficial physiological noise and reduce spurious connectivity 75 . Although both HbO and HbR signals were obtained, subsequent analyses focused on HbO because its higher sensitivity to cerebral blood flow 76 , stronger correlation with blood‐oxygenation‐level‐dependent (BOLD) signal, higher signal‐to‐noise ratio 77,78 , and more reproducible over sessions 79 , than HbR . ROI construction. Analyses were conducted at the region‐of‐interest (ROI) level to focus on anatomically defined areas 80 , reduce complexity, and control Type I error 81 . HbO concentrations were standardized into z ‐scores relative to resting‐state data. ROIs were defined by averaging the channels corresponding to the same anatomical location, with detailed channel coordinates provided in Table S8 . Interbrain synchronization (IBS). IBS was computed for each ROI and task condition using a time‐domain cross‐correlation approach 66 . Preprocessed, z-scored HbO time series from corresponding channels of each dyad were cross-correlated using the xcorr function in MATLAB. A maximum lag of ±5 s (±55 samples at 11 Hz) was used, capturing task‐related IBS while minimizing spurious correlations. The peak absolute correlation coefficient within this window was taken as IBS strength. IBS values were computed separately for conditions (congruent vs. incongruent) and then averaged across channels within each ROI. Cross‐correlation was chosen over wavelet transform coherence (WTC) 82 to capture transient, trial-level synchronization given the short, interleaved trials. Granger causality analysis (GCA). To assess directional information flow, GCA was applied using the MVGC toolbox 83,84 . Conditional GCA values were computed for both directions (adolescent-to-parent and parent-to-adolescent) using state‐space modeling, which provides improved statistical power and reduced bias relative to standard autoregressive estimators 83 . GCA was performed on preprocessed, z ‐scored HbO time series from each ROI during task periods, allowing quantification of information flow between brains under different experimental conditions. Statistical tests All analyses were conducted in MATLAB 2024a (MathWorks Inc., Natick, MA). Significance level was set to p < 0.05. False-discovery-rate (FDR) correction was applied to account for multiple comparisons. Subjective measures. Adolescents’ mental health outcomes (anxiety, depression, life satisfaction) and relational measures (self-other overlap, relationship quality) were assessed in both Year 1 and Year 2. Longitudinal changes from Year 1 to Year 2 were tested using paired-samples t -tests. For group differences, independent-samples t -tests were conducted between high- and low-OP groups. Joint Simon task performance. Mean reaction times for correct responses and accuracy were analyzed using 2 × 2 repeated‐measures ANOVAs, with condition (congruent vs. incongruent) as a within‐subject factor and group (high‐OP vs. low‐OP) as a between‐subject factor. IBS. For each ROI, IBS values were analyzed using 2 × 2 mixed‐effects ANOVAs with condition as a within‐subject factor and group as a between‐subject factor. GC. Directional GC values were compared within dyads using Wilcoxon signed‐rank tests (parent-to-adolescent vs. adolescent-to-parent) and between groups using Mann–Whitney U tests (high‐OP vs. low‐OP). Non-parametric tests were used due to that GC values were not normally distributed. Associations. Pearson correlations were used for relationships involving IBS (with JSE, mental health outcomes, and relationship quality), and Spearman correlations were used for associations involving GC, due to its non-normal distribution. Declarations Data availability The data are accessible at https://osf.io/bu7fd. Statistical software used for data analysis is explicitly mentioned in the corresponding sections. This study was not preregistered. Code availability Custom code used for data preprocessing and analysis is available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. Acknowledgements This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32200868) to P.H., the National Natural Science Foundation of China (62577047, 62337001), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (226-2025-00127), and the Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (LMS25C090002) to Y.P., and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32371108) and the Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (LY24C090001) to J. H. Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no competing interest. References Wang, Q., Pomerantz, E. M. & Chen, H. The role of parents’ control in early adolescents’ psychological functioning: A longitudinal investigation in the United States and China. Child development 78 , 1592–1610 (2007). Segrin, C., Givertz, M., Swaitkowski, P. & Montgomery, N. Overparenting is Associated with Child Problems and a Critical Family Environment. J Child Fam Stud 24 , 470–479 (2015). 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9100371","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":608362399,"identity":"496c32c8-ed60-496b-9487-7639b43c6d5a","order_by":0,"name":"Yafeng Pan","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA9klEQVRIiWNgGAWjYFACxgdQBvMBBgkQfYCgFmYDKIMtgWQtPFAGIS0Gxw8zPi74xZDHP7vn8wfLNgY5vhsJjJ8L8Gk5k8xsPLOPoVjiztkNBpJtDMaSNxKYpWfg03Ig/5g0bw9DYsON3A0JQC2JG24ksDHz4NNy/jH7b5CW+TdyHhwAaqknrOVGMlDBD5DhOYwNQC0JBoS0SN54zCzN2yBRbHgjzZhB4pyE4cwzD5ul8WnhO5/M+Jnnj02e3I3kx58lymzk+Y4nH/yMT4vCASDB2CaRAOIwS4Ajk7EBjwYGBnmw9B8GsBbGD3jVjoJRMApGwUgFABOITW568g6OAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5633-8313","institution":"Zhejiang University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yafeng","middleName":"","lastName":"Pan","suffix":""},{"id":608362400,"identity":"ee415d4c-bc1f-48d2-8d6a-8ebc90e91ea6","order_by":1,"name":"Yuanyuan Li","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Zhejiang University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yuanyuan","middleName":"","lastName":"Li","suffix":""},{"id":608362401,"identity":"e93b6aa2-f99d-4364-b33e-aa55f3507c1e","order_by":2,"name":"Hengyue Ran","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Zhejiang University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hengyue","middleName":"","lastName":"Ran","suffix":""},{"id":608362402,"identity":"171eefe6-f838-46a8-abfc-701a2e7c0096","order_by":3,"name":"Song Lin","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Zhejiang University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Song","middleName":"","lastName":"Lin","suffix":""},{"id":608362403,"identity":"aadf2163-022b-4d9e-8256-03001e23c0dd","order_by":4,"name":"Nuannuan Zhou","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Zhejiang University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Nuannuan","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhou","suffix":""},{"id":608362404,"identity":"32bfa75b-673c-41f5-80fd-4d2b7d2f861e","order_by":5,"name":"Ruhan Ding","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Zhejiang University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ruhan","middleName":"","lastName":"Ding","suffix":""},{"id":608362405,"identity":"69cce5d0-a993-42fc-841c-9edfea2c4e38","order_by":6,"name":"Lu Zhou","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Zhejiang University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Lu","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhou","suffix":""},{"id":608362406,"identity":"42cee8f3-35ef-4118-8332-838a07fde311","order_by":7,"name":"Yutong Wang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Zhejiang University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yutong","middleName":"","lastName":"Wang","suffix":""},{"id":608362407,"identity":"383caa8f-6119-44c4-a88b-8f8165ea4536","order_by":8,"name":"Jie He","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Zhejiang University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jie","middleName":"","lastName":"He","suffix":""},{"id":608362408,"identity":"1164c285-9734-49de-bf90-40fbae850223","order_by":9,"name":"Peipei Hong","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Zhejiang University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Peipei","middleName":"","lastName":"Hong","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-12 05:30:22","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9100371/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9100371/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":106542988,"identity":"c48abb5b-7fc2-4cf9-afa8-37b223a7df0a","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-09 16:32:44","extension":"jpg","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":366131,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAn overview of study design and analysis pipeline. \u003c/strong\u003e(a) Experimental design. Participants underwent stratification by OP scores, longitudinal psychosocial assessments (Year 2023–2025), and a Joint Simon Task with fNIRS hyperscanning (Year 2024-2025). (b) Pipeline for fNIRS preprocessing, IBS computation, and Granger Causality (GC) analysis.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"1.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9100371/v1/1ccbc6f8ae6e6295c5c4674d.jpg"},{"id":106726735,"identity":"a8434120-f544-437d-8bd1-130f5906de35","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-12 18:37:13","extension":"jpg","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":273178,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOverparenting (OP) relates to adolescents\u003c/strong\u003e’\u003cstrong\u003e lower perceived closeness and higher anxiety. \u003c/strong\u003e(a–b) Self-mother overlap (a) and self-father overlap (b) were significantly lower in high-OP adolescents than in low-OP adolescents. (c) Adolescents’ perceived relationship quality was also lower in the high-OP group. (d–f) Mental health outcomes. High-OP adolescents reported higher anxiety (d), and nonsignificant trends toward higher depression (e) and lower life satisfaction (f). Error bars indicate standard errors. *\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e \u0026lt; 0.05, ✝︎\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e= 0.06, ns, nonsignificant.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"2.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9100371/v1/5ded7e3352d462bf4ee9a942.jpg"},{"id":106542991,"identity":"631c47dc-7e9e-41c4-86c5-071258d31984","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-09 16:32:44","extension":"jpg","order_by":3,"title":"Figure 3","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":142229,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJoint Simon Effect (JSE) and its association with perceived parent–adolescent relationship.\u003c/strong\u003e (a) Both high- and low-overparenting (OP) groups showed slower reaction times (RTs) on incongruent than on congruent trials, confirming a robust JSE. No group difference was observed in JSE. (b) In the high-OP group, larger JSEs were positively correlated with adolescents’ perceived parent–adolescent relationship, whereas no such association observed in the low-OP group. Error bars indicate standard errors. ***\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e \u0026lt; 0.001. ns, nonsignificant.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"3.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9100371/v1/133019df51541f539d8f84b3.jpg"},{"id":106724978,"identity":"db739a6c-0287-4f21-93aa-24dbbc9ab120","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-12 18:30:51","extension":"jpg","order_by":4,"title":"Figure 4","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":148097,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eInterbrain synchronization (IBS) during parent-adolescent interaction. \u003c/strong\u003e(a) Across all dyads, IBS within the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) was greater during congruent than incongruent trials. (b) A condition-by-group interaction emerged in the sensorimotor cortex (SMC): low-OP dyads showed greater IBS during incongruent trials, whereas this modulation was absent in high-OP dyads. Error bars represent standard errors. *\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e \u0026lt; 0.05, **\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e \u0026lt; 0.01. ns, nonsignificant.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"4.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9100371/v1/e33944e225b50798c37cbbda.jpg"},{"id":106725132,"identity":"bd0caca7-bee9-4850-8ecf-019167c9c29a","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-12 18:31:30","extension":"jpg","order_by":5,"title":"Figure 5","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":122926,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGranger causality (GC) in parent–adolescent dyads. \u003c/strong\u003e(a) In the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), High-OP dyads showed greater parent-to-adolescent GC than Low-OP dyads, with no group difference in the opposite direction. (b) In the sensorimotor cortex (SMC), no significant between-group differences were observed in either direction. Error bars represent standard errors. *\u003cem\u003ep \u003c/em\u003e\u0026lt; 0.05. ns, nonsignificant.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"5.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9100371/v1/361cad3d519d6e41bf2aaf4c.jpg"},{"id":106542995,"identity":"af25b4e7-9086-4946-b841-eb96572d1a67","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-09 16:32:44","extension":"jpg","order_by":6,"title":"Figure 6","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":130333,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAssociation between parent-adolescent Granger causality (GC) and self-other integration. \u003c/strong\u003e(a) Across all dyads, higher parent-to-adolescent GC in the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) was associated with Joint Simon Effect (JSE), indicating stronger self-other integration. (b) The same positive association was evident within the high-overparenting (OP) group. Each point represents one dyad; lines indicate linear fits with 95% confident intervals.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"6.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9100371/v1/422ef2091afdfa8e59aaa580.jpg"},{"id":106725643,"identity":"3cd424d1-1e3d-4f4d-9de6-c87d5f47f1e4","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-12 18:33:21","extension":"jpg","order_by":7,"title":"Figure 7","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":114991,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAssociations between adolescent-to-parent Granger causality (GC) and adolescents’ mental health in the low-overparenting (OP) group. \u003c/strong\u003eIn the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), stronger adolescent-to-parent GC was associated with lower anxiety (a), lower depression (b), and higher life satisfaction (c). In the sensorimotor cortex (SMC), stronger adolescent-to-parent GC was linked to lower depression (d) and higher life satisfaction (e). Each point represents one dyad; lines indicate linear fits with 95% confidence intervals.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"7.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9100371/v1/7747963ac2275a8ce5d4ab37.jpg"},{"id":108805567,"identity":"663b2284-4d11-44c6-a09b-88b4dab6b15c","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-05-08 15:26:18","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1753455,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9100371/v1/21e0d502-0990-4a43-bdb1-cad3abd5f9a7.pdf"},{"id":106542989,"identity":"cd6282b3-8c91-4f91-b806-a4dd44c9408d","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-09 16:32:44","extension":"docx","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":143479,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Supplementary Materials","description":"","filename":"SupplementaryMaterials.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9100371/v1/156594ea7f929faee785671d.docx"}],"financialInterests":"There is \u003cb\u003eNO\u003c/b\u003e Competing Interest.","formattedTitle":"Overparenting blurs neural self-other integration during naturalistic parent-adolescent interactions and downgrades adolescent mental health","fulltext":[{"header":"Main","content":"\u003cp\u003eAs a Chinese saying goes, \u0026ldquo;\u003cem\u003eThere is a kind of cold that comes from your mother thinking you are cold\u003c/em\u003e\u0026rdquo;. This vividly captures the nature of overparenting (OP). In Chinese culture, this behavior is often epitomized by the phrase \u0026ldquo;doing it for your own good\u0026rdquo;, reflecting a benevolent intention where excessive involvement is framed as a moral and emotional necessity\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e. Over the past two decades, OP has drawn increasing attention across psychology, sociology, and family studies\u003csup\u003e2\u0026ndash;6\u003c/sup\u003e. It is broadly defined as a developmentally inappropriate parenting style marked by excessive involvement, control, and support that exceed adolescents\u0026rsquo; actual developmental needs\u003csup\u003e4,7\u003c/sup\u003e. Often dubbed \u0026ldquo;helicopter parenting,\u0026rdquo; OP is characterized by parents overinvolvement in their children\u0026rsquo;s lives. While OP is often motivated by parental affection and concern, theoretical perspectives consistently highlight its potential risks.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the lens of ecological systems theory\u003csup\u003e8\u003c/sup\u003e, the family represents a crucial microsystem in which inappropriate parenting behaviors directly shape adolescents\u0026rsquo; mental health\u003csup\u003e9,10\u003c/sup\u003e. Family systems theory further emphasizes that healthy development relies on maintaining clear generational boundaries within the parent-child subsystem\u003csup\u003e11\u003c/sup\u003e. Within the Chinese cultural context, in contrast to Western cultural contexts that tend to emphasize autonomy and self-responsibility in adulthood, strong expectations are placed on parents to remain responsible for their children\u0026rsquo;s success and well-being across the life course\u003csup\u003e12\u003c/sup\u003e. Such cultural expectations foster strong intergenerational bonds, within which parental overcontrol may be interpreted as an extension of parental care and duty\u003csup\u003e13\u003c/sup\u003e. However, when these boundaries blur, families can become enmeshed, a relational pattern manifested as overinvolvement and intrusion that undermines adolescents\u0026rsquo; autonomy and individuation, increasing vulnerability to anxiety and depression\u003csup\u003e2,14\u003c/sup\u003e. Empirical studies consistently link OP to various maladaptive outcomes, including internalizing and externalizing symptoms such as school burnout, anxiety, and reduced self-efficacy\u003csup\u003e15\u0026ndash;18\u003c/sup\u003e.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRecent social and economic transformations have intensified OP phenomenon\u003csup\u003e19\u0026ndash;22\u003c/sup\u003e. Adolescents increasingly perceive their parents as more demanding and critical than previous generations, a trend partly driven by rising inequality, insecurity, and declining social mobility. These structural pressures heighten parental anxiety and reinforce intensive parenting norms that valorize heavy emotional, temporal, and financial investment in children\u003csup\u003e23\u0026ndash;27\u003c/sup\u003e. Consequently, OP has become both more prevalent and socially normative, posing urgent implications for adolescents\u0026rsquo; mental health and parent-child relationship.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;Most studies examining the impact of OP on parent-child relationships rely on self-report questionnaires\u003csup\u003e28\u0026ndash;31\u003c/sup\u003e, which primarily capture subjective perceptions but overlook implicit processes during real-time interactions. This limitation is particularly salient in the Chinese cultural context, where OP is not only highly prevalent but also socially sanctioned as an expression of care and responsibility\u003csup\u003e32\u003c/sup\u003e.\u0026nbsp;Within this cultural framework, parents are viewed as authoritative guides whose lifelong sense of responsibility is reciprocally linked to children\u0026rsquo;s expectations of filial obedience. Consequently, behaviors that might be considered intrusive in Western contexts may instead be interpreted as expressions of responsible or \u0026ldquo;good\u0026rdquo; parenting in China\u003csup\u003e33\u003c/sup\u003e. Cross-cultural evidence suggests that the psychological consequences of OP may differ across societies: whereas Western studies typically emphasize its detrimental effects on autonomy and adjustment\u003csup\u003e5\u003c/sup\u003e, findings from East Asian contexts are more mixed, with some adolescents interpreting parental overinvolvement as care rather than control\u003csup\u003e34,35\u003c/sup\u003e. Such cultural divergence underscores the need to move beyond self-reported experiences toward objective behavioral and neural measures that can reveal how OP manifests in actual parent\u0026ndash;child coordination. Understanding these moment-to-moment interactional dynamics is essential for clarifying whether OP represents an adaptive or maladaptive form of involvement within different sociocultural environments.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe joint Simon paradigm provides an ideal behavioral tool to address this gap. In this dyadic choice-reaction task\u003csup\u003e36\u003c/sup\u003e, two participants jointly perform a Go/No-go task, each responding to an assigned stimulus while ignoring their partner\u0026rsquo;s. Reaction times are typically faster and more accurate when stimulus and response locations are congruent than when they are incongruent, with this difference constituting the Joint Simon Effect (JSE). A larger JSE reflects stronger self-other integration, indicating that one\u0026rsquo;s partner\u0026rsquo;s task has been incorporated into one\u0026rsquo;s own action representation\u003csup\u003e36\u0026ndash;38\u003c/sup\u003e. Applying this paradigm to parent-child dyads allows for a behavioral quantification of coordination: moderate self-other integration may facilitate co-regulation, whereas excessive integration, analogous to enmeshment, may impair coordination.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;Beyond behavioral dynamics, inter-brain synchronization (IBS) provides a neural index of parent-child alignment. With the development of hyperscanning technique, researchers can simultaneously record brain activity from interacting individuals, enabling the study of IBS during social coordination or interactions\u003csup\u003e39,40\u003c/sup\u003e. In infants, face-to-face interactions such as toy play elicit synchronized prefrontal and parietal activation between infants and adults, with IBS closely linked to eye contact, joint attention, and prosodic features of speech\u003csup\u003e41\u003c/sup\u003e. In school-aged children and adolescents, higher IBS, especially within the temporoparietal junction (TPJ), has been linked to cooperative engagement and positive interaction quality\u003csup\u003e42\u003c/sup\u003e. Contextual factors also modulate this synchrony: IBS predicts stronger interaction quality when parents provide emotional support but not when such support is lacking\u003csup\u003e43\u003c/sup\u003e. Naturalistic paradigms further confirm robust parent-child IBS during free play\u003csup\u003e44\u003c/sup\u003e, reinforcing the notion that IBS serves as a neural marker of social interaction quality, dynamically shaped by parenting style and relational context. Given the importance of the distributed fronto-temporo-parietal network in these processes, the present study focuses on IBS within this network as a key neural signature of parent-adolescent interaction.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;Survey-based studies involving parent-adolescent dyads show that parents\u0026rsquo; reports of OP often diverge from adolescents\u0026rsquo; perception of autonomy. Parents tend to adjust their practices (e.g., providing less tangible assistance but more advice management) according to their own judgments rather than their child\u0026rsquo;s actual autonomy needs, reflecting a parent-driven schema\u003csup\u003e45\u003c/sup\u003e. Moreover, discrepancies themselves carry psychological significance: when adolescents perceive more overprotection than their parents report, they display greater externalizing problems and autonomy frustration, with the latter mediating the relationship between perceived incongruence and maladjustment\u003csup\u003e46\u003c/sup\u003e. However, while these dyadic perception discrepancies highlight an imbalance in parent-child dynamics, static self-reports cannot resolve the real-time directionality of these interactions. Specifically, it remains unclear whether parental practices actively shape adolescent responses in line with a parent-driven schema, or if adolescents\u0026rsquo; characteristics continually elicit parental control. To capture these dynamic, bidirectional processes, analytic approaches must move beyond static associations to estimate directional influences within dyadic interactions. Granger causality analysis (GCA) is well suited to this aim, as it assesses how one partner\u0026rsquo;s neural activity temporally predicts the other\u0026rsquo;s\u003csup\u003e46\u003c/sup\u003e. Prior hyperscanning studies have successfully applied GCA to reveal information flow between interacting individuals\u003csup\u003e47,48\u003c/sup\u003e. Building on this work, the present study integrates IBS and GCA within the joint Simon paradigm to examine both overall neural alignment and directional information flow in real-time parent-adolescent interactions. With this multi-person neuroscience approach, we tested how OP shapes parent-adolescent interactions at both behavioral and neural levels, and how these dyadic dynamics relate to adolescent mental health.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Results","content":"\u003cp\u003eWe first stratified parent\u0026ndash;adolescent dyads into groups based on adolescent-reported OP scores obtained from a standardized questionnaire. Adolescents\u0026rsquo; mental health (i.e., anxiety, depression, and life satisfaction) and perceived parent\u0026ndash;child relationship measures (i.e., self-other overlap and relationship quality) were then assessed annually over two consecutive years. Having identified OP-related differences in these longitudinal indices, we investigated the underlying behavioral and neural mechanisms\u0026nbsp;using fNIRS hyperscanning in a parent\u0026ndash;adolescent Joint Simon Task (\u003cstrong\u003eFig. 1a\u003c/strong\u003e). The Joint Simon Effect (JSE) was computed as a behavioral measure of self-other integration, while IBS was quantified separately for congruent and incongruent trials. To characterize directional information flow, we further applied Granger causality (GC) analyses to estimate parent-to-adolescent and adolescent-to-parent neural information flow. Primary analyses examined group (OP level) and condition (congruency) effects on JSE, IBS and GC, followed by correlation analyses linking behavioral and neural indices with mental health outcomes (\u003cstrong\u003eFig. 1b\u003c/strong\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOverparenting relates to lower relationship quality and higher adolescent anxiety\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll psychological and relational measures were adolescent-reported, with higher scores indicating greater symptom severity (for depression and anxiety) or higher perceived quality/closeness (for life satisfaction, self-other overlap, and relationship quality). Across the adolescent sample, depression scores increased (\u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e(63)\u003c/sub\u003e = -3.30, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e = 0.002) and life satisfaction decreased (\u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e(63)\u003c/sub\u003e = 4.14, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e \u0026lt; 0.001) from the first to the second year, whereas anxiety scores and relationship measures (self-other overlap and relationship quality) showed no significant changes (|\u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003es| \u0026lt; 1.78, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003es \u0026gt; 0.08). Both high- and low-OP groups exhibited this same longitudinal pattern, with significant increases in depression (high-OP: \u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e(33)\u003c/sub\u003e = -2.29, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e = 0.03; low-OP: \u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e(29)\u003c/sub\u003e = -2.36, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e = 0.03) and decreases in life satisfaction (high-OP: \u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e(29)\u003c/sub\u003e = 2.32, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e = 0.03; low-OP: \u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e(33)\u003c/sub\u003e = 3.61, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e = 0.001), but stable anxiety and relationship scores (|\u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003es| \u0026lt; 1.47, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003es \u0026gt; 0.15). These changes likely reflect increasing academic stress associated with grade advancement. Accordingly, the two annual assessments were averaged to yield more stable indices for subsequent analyses.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBased on the averaged data, adolescents in the low-OP group reported greater self-other overlap with their mothers than those in the high-OP group (\u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e(62)\u003c/sub\u003e = 2.23, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e = 0.03, \u003cstrong\u003eFig. 2a\u003c/strong\u003e), with a marginal trend observed for fathers (\u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e(62)\u003c/sub\u003e = 1.95, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e = 0.06, \u003cstrong\u003eFig. 2b\u003c/strong\u003e). Likewise, perceived parent\u0026ndash;adolescent relationship quality was significantly higher in the low-OP group (\u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e(62)\u003c/sub\u003e = 2.31, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e = 0.03, \u003cstrong\u003eFig. 2c\u003c/strong\u003e). These findings suggest that adolescents exposed to higher levels of OP perceive their relationships with parents as more distant and lower in quality.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTurning to mental health, adolescents in the high-OP group reported significantly greater anxiety than those in the low-OP group (\u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e(62)\u003c/sub\u003e = -2.32, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e = 0.02, \u003cstrong\u003eFig. 2d\u003c/strong\u003e). Although differences in depression (\u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e(62)\u003c/sub\u003e = -1.57, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e = 0.12, \u003cstrong\u003eFig. 2e\u003c/strong\u003e) and life satisfaction (\u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e(62)\u003c/sub\u003e = -1.64, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e = 0.11, \u003cstrong\u003eFig. 2f\u003c/strong\u003e) did not reach statistical significance, both trends indicated poorer well-being among high-OP adolescents. Taken together, these results indicate that OP is associated with lower relational closeness and higher anxiety, pointing to its specific affective risks during adolescence.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSelf-other integration associates with relationship quality only under high overparenting\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe next examined behavioral signatures of self-other integration within parent\u0026ndash;adolescent dyads using a Joint Simon task, which indexes how individuals distinguish and coordinate their own and others\u0026rsquo; action roles (e.g., identifying \u0026ldquo;my target\u0026rdquo; vs. \u0026ldquo;the other\u0026rsquo;s target\u0026rdquo;). Across all dyads, we observed a robust Joint Simon Effect (JSE), with slower reaction times on incongruent than congruent trials (low-OP group: \u003cem\u003et\u003csub\u003e(\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e69)\u003c/sub\u003e = 8.45, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e \u0026lt; 0.001, high-OP group: \u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e(77)\u003c/sub\u003e = 9.00, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e \u0026lt; 0.001, \u003cstrong\u003eFig. 3a\u003c/strong\u003e). This classic interference effect reflects the additional cognitive effort required to resolve conflicts between stimulus location and the partner\u0026rsquo;s target, capturing a basic level of self-other integration during joint action.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eImportantly, the overall JSE did not differ between the high- and low-OP groups (\u003cem\u003eF\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e(1, 146)\u003c/sub\u003e = 0.35, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e = 0.56, \u003cimg src=\"data:image/png;base64,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\" style=\"width: 16px; height: 20.2353px;\" width=\"16\" height=\"20.2353\"\u003e = 0.002, \u003cstrong\u003eFig. 3a\u003c/strong\u003e), suggesting a comparable baseline capacity for self-other integration across dyads. However, the functional significance of this integration diverged sharply between groups. Among high-OP dyads, larger JSE was positively associated with adolescents\u0026rsquo; perceived relationship quality (\u003cem\u003er\u003c/em\u003e = 0.41, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e = 0.03, \u003cstrong\u003eFig. 3b\u003c/strong\u003e), whereas no such relationship emerged in the low-OP group (\u003cem\u003er\u003c/em\u003e = -0.02, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e = 0.91). JSE was unrelated to other mental health indices (depression, anxiety, and life satisfaction) or to another relational measure (self-other overlap, all \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003es \u0026gt; 0.10).\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eParent\u0026ndash;adolescent dyads exhibit OP-dependent IBS during real-time interaction\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe examined IBS during real-time parent\u0026ndash;adolescent interaction in a Joint Simon task using fNIRS hyperscanning. In the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), a main effect of condition emerged: IBS was significantly greater during congruent than incongruent trials across all dyads (corrected \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e = 0.02, \u003cstrong\u003eFig. 4a\u003c/strong\u003e), indicating enhanced neural alignment that supports coordinated action.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCritically, OP modulated task-dependent IBS in the sensorimotor cortex (SMC; corrected \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e = 0.04, \u003cstrong\u003eFig. 4b\u003c/strong\u003e). Post hoc comparisons revealed dissociated patterns across groups: in low-OP dyads, IBS of SMC was significantly greater during incongruent than congruent trials (\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e = 0.008), reflecting an interesting neural self-other integration pattern. However, this pattern was absent in high-OP dyads (\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e = 0.15). These findings suggest that OP alters neural dynamics of self-other integration (congruent vs. incongruent), with flexible, context-sensitive SMC coupling evident only in the low-OP group.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDirectional parent\u0026ndash;adolescent information flow depends on OP\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe next assessed the directionality of neural information flow using Granger causality (GC) analyses in the IFG and SMC, testing both between-group (high- vs. low-OP) differences and within-group asymmetries (parent-to-adolescent vs. adolescent-to-parent).\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the IFG, parent-to-adolescent GC was significantly greater in high-OP dyads than in low-OP dyads (\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e = 0.01, corrected \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e = 0.048, \u003cstrong\u003eFig. 5a\u003c/strong\u003e), whereas no group difference emerged for adolescent-to-parent GC (\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e = 0.18, \u003cstrong\u003eFig. 5a\u003c/strong\u003e). In the SMC, between-group differences were not significant for either direction (both \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003es \u0026gt; 0.27, \u003cstrong\u003eFig. 5b\u003c/strong\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDirectional parent\u0026ndash;adolescent information flow associates with self-other integration\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHaving established distinct neural signatures (IBS and GC) across OP groups, we next examined their associations with behavioral self-other integration (indexed by the JSE). IBS analyses revealed no significant associations with JSE, either when examining condition-dependent IBS modulation in individual regions (IFG or SMC) or when stratified by OP group (all |\u003cem\u003er\u003c/em\u003es| \u0026lt; 0.10, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003es \u0026gt; 0.05).\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn contrast, GC analyses identified a distinct relationship. In the IFG, parent-to-adolescent GC positively correlated with JSE in the overall sample (\u003cem\u003er\u003c/em\u003e = 0.34, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e = 0.04, \u003cstrong\u003eFig. 6a\u003c/strong\u003e) and in the high-OP group (\u003cem\u003er\u003c/em\u003e = 0.27, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e = 0.03, \u003cstrong\u003eFig. 6b\u003c/strong\u003e). No other GC\u0026ndash;JSE associations reached significance across regions or directions (all |\u003cem\u003er\u003c/em\u003es| \u0026lt; 0.12, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003es \u0026gt; 0.51).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDirectional parent\u0026ndash;adolescent information flow associates with adolescent mental health\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo elucidate the functional relevance of the observed neural patterns, we next tested whether IBS and GC were associated with adolescents\u0026rsquo; mental health outcomes. Analyses were conducted separately for each region (IFG, SMC) and OP group. Significant associations emerged only for adolescent-to-parent GC in the low-OP group.\u0026nbsp;Specifically,\u0026nbsp;higher IFG adolescent-to-parent GC was linked to lower anxiety (\u003cem\u003er\u003c/em\u003e = \u0026ndash;0.47, corrected \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e = 0.03; \u003cstrong\u003eFig. 7a\u003c/strong\u003e), lower depression (\u003cem\u003er\u003c/em\u003e = \u0026ndash;0.42, corrected \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e = 0.049; \u003cstrong\u003eFig. 7b\u003c/strong\u003e), and higher life satisfaction (\u003cem\u003er\u003c/em\u003e = 0.51, corrected \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e = 0.03; \u003cstrong\u003eFig. 7c\u003c/strong\u003e). Similarly, stronger SMC adolescent-to-parent GC was associated with lower depression (\u003cem\u003er\u003c/em\u003e = \u0026ndash;0.48, corrected \u003cem\u003ep\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003e= 0.03; \u003cstrong\u003eFig. 7d\u003c/strong\u003e) and greater life satisfaction (\u003cem\u003er\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003e= 0.68, corrected \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e = 0.001; \u003cstrong\u003eFig. 7e\u003c/strong\u003e). No other associations were significant. These findings underscore the adaptive role of adolescent-to-parent neural influence in supporting adolescents\u0026rsquo; psychological well-being within low-OP relational contexts.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThis study demonstrates that OP shapes adolescent development through dual pathways of risk and compensation, spanning psychological, behavioral, and neural domains. Consistent with prior research, adolescents from high-OP families reported greater anxiety and lower relationship quality, highlighting the emotional costs of intrusive parental control\u003csup\u003e49,50\u003c/sup\u003e. At the same time, our behavioral and neural findings suggest that parent-adolescent dyads do not passively experience these risks. Instead, they appear to engage adaptive adjustments during real-time interaction that may temporarily buffer relational strain. Specifically, stronger self\u0026ndash;other integration was linked to better perceived relationship quality only in high-OP dyads, and distinct patterns of directional neural information flow further differentiated compensatory coordination from autonomy-supportive interaction.\u0026nbsp;Together, these findings reveal a dynamic interplay between developmental risk and adaptive regulation in parent-adolescent relationships.-.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese compensatory patterns are best understood within the sociocultural context of Chinese families. Rooted in Confucian traditions, Chinese parenting norms emphasize interdependence, filial piety, and family honor, casting intensive parental involvement and guidance as expressions of care and moral duty rather than intrusion\u003csup\u003e12\u003c/sup\u003e. Amid rapid socioeconomic transformation, intense educational competition, and the enduring influence of the one-child policy, these values have amplified, fueling increasingly higher levels of parental engagement\u003csup\u003e26,51\u003c/sup\u003e. Within this cultural landscape, OP may thus assume a dual function: while it imposes psychological strain and undermines adolescents\u0026rsquo; autonomy, it also operates as a culturally sanctioned strategy to preserve family cohesion and promote academic and social achievement. This inherent tension between protection and constraint helps explain why high-OP dyads in our study displayed both emotional costs and compensatory behavioral and neural adaptations. In essence, what might be labeled as \u0026quot;overcontrol\u0026quot; in Western contexts may, within East Asia cultural frameworks, represent a normative form of parental involvement that elicits compensatory behavioral and neural adjustments.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eImportantly, recent cross-cultural research suggests that intensive parenting may carry different psychological meanings across cultural contexts. In Chinese families, strong parental investment in children is often interpreted as a moral responsibility and a central component of parental identity\u003csup\u003e12\u003c/sup\u003e, and fulfilling this responsibility can generate emotional rewards such as meaning, purpose, and a sense of successful parenthood\u003csup\u003e52,53\u003c/sup\u003e. These culturally embedded rewards may partially offset the stress and demands associated with intensive parenting\u003csup\u003e52\u003c/sup\u003e, thereby altering the psychological dynamics through which overinvolvement operates within families. As a result, adolescents may simultaneously experience parental involvement as both constraining and supportive, producing a relational environment characterized by ambivalence rather than purely negative effects\u003csup\u003e20,54\u003c/sup\u003e. Within such contexts, adolescents may adopt adaptive strategies to maintain relational harmony, which is an important goal in interdependent cultural systems, by increasing behavioral attunement and coordination with their parents during interaction\u003csup\u003e20\u003c/sup\u003e. The compensatory self\u0026ndash;other integration observed in the present study may thus reflect adolescents\u0026rsquo; efforts to sustain relationship functioning despite reduced autonomy support.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;At the behavioral level, all dyads showed robust self-other integration during real-time interaction, as indexed by the JSE. Notably, only in high-OP dyads did stronger self-other integration associate with higher perceived relationship quality. This pattern suggests that self-other integration functions as a context-dependent compensatory mechanism: in secure relationships (low OP), integration is less essential for maintaining closeness, whereas in strained relationships (high OP), enhanced integration may temporarily restore interpersonal coherence, clarifying role boundaries and alleviating tension. Importantly, this association was specific to perceived relationship quality and did not generalize to broader well-being indicators such as anxiety or life satisfaction. Thus, the observed behavioral compensation under high OP appears targeted and situational, rather than reflecting a more generalized form of psychological resilience.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;At the neural level, our findings focused on the IFG and SMC, regions integral to the inhibitory control network. The Joint Simon Task employed here constitutes a social variant of Go/No-Go paradigm, in which the IFG and SMC (including supplementary motor areas, SMA, and pre-supplementary motor areas, pre-SMA) serve as functional hubs for suppressing inappropriate responses and coordinating action execution. Converging evidence from neuroimaging and coactivation-based parcellation studies indicates that the IFG is consistently recruited during Go/No-Go tasks, where it supports response inhibition, conflict monitoring, and regulation of motor and speech-related actions, highlighting its central role in cognitive control\u003csup\u003e55\u003c/sup\u003e. In contrast, the SMC contributes to action preparation, initiation, and monitoring: the SMA proper underlies motor readiness and execution, whereas the pre-SMA mediates higher-order processes such as action selection, task switching, and inhibitory control\u003csup\u003e56\u003c/sup\u003e. Together, these findings delineate a functional division in which the IFG primarily mediates response inhibition, while the SMC supports intentional action planning.\u0026nbsp;These distinct roles help explain our neural findings, revealing that OP not only heightens parent-driven inhibitory control in the IFG, but also impairs real-time motor coordination in the SMC.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe IBS and GC analyses revealed two distinct forms of brain-to-brain coordination. IBS was robust across groups and conditions, but was unrelated to either behavioral JSE or mental health outcomes, suggesting that IBS reflects a baseline neural alignment insufficient to explain adaptive variation. By contrast, directional neural information flow, as captured by GC, proved functionally significant. Among high-OP dyads, stronger parent-to-adolescent GC in the IFG was associated with both greater self-other integration (indexed by JSE) and lower adolescent anxiety. This pattern likely reflects a compensatory neural mechanism: whereby clearer parental signaling temporarily stabilizes dyadic coordination when spontaneous relational attunement is weakened. However, such top-down dominance may also reinforce dependency and constrain adolescents\u0026rsquo; autonomy over time. Conversely, in low-OP dyads, beneficial effects emerged for adolescent-to-parent GC in both IFG and SMC, where adolescent-driven GC was associated with fewer internalizing symptoms and higher life satisfaction. These results underscore a functional shift from compensatory parental control to autonomy-supportive reciprocity: adaptive neural coordination, and by extension adolescent well-being, arises when influence flows from adolescent to parent rather than from parent to adolescent.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;Taken together, our findings support a multi-level model of compensatory regulation. OP undermines relationship quality and elevates adolescent anxiety, yet dyads engage behavioral and neural adjustments (notably, enhanced self-other integration facilitated by parent-to-adolescent information flow) to buffer relational strain. Although such compensation provides short-term relief, it is fragile, energetically costly, and may be maladaptive over time. In contrast, low-OP dyads exemplify a healthier developmental trajectory, wherein adolescent-driven information flow promotes autonomy and mental health directly. This dissociation further clarifies the distinct roles of the neural signatures examined: IBS reflects baseline alignment, whereas directional GC determines whether dyads adaptively foster resilience or defensively maintain cohesion\u003csup\u003e47,57,58\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;Several limitations warrant consideration. First, while psychological measures were collected longitudinally, neural dynamics were assessed at a single time point, constraining inferences about how compensation unfolds over development. Second, the fNIRS converge was limited to predefined cortical regions, omitting broader networks that may also contribute to parent-adolescent interactions. Third, the sample consisted of Chinese adolescents, raising questions about the cross-cultural generalizability of the findings\u003csup\u003e59\u003c/sup\u003e. Finally, while correlational analyses reveal associations between neural directionality and mental health, causal mechanisms remain to be tested using experimental or intervention designs.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; This study reveals that OP shapes adolescent development through a dynamic interplay of disruption and compensation. While OP compromises relationship quality and elevates anxiety, parent\u0026ndash;adolescent dyads engage adaptive behavioral (self-other integration) and neural (directional parent-to-adolescent information flow) mechanisms that mitigate these adverse effects. By delineating these cross-level processes, we advance understanding of how OP affects adolescent mental health and provide a foundation for targeted interventions. Crucially, our findings suggest that even strained parent\u0026ndash;adolescent relationships retain the capacity for resilience, provided that adaptive behavioral and neural strategies are engaged.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Methods","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eParticipants\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe final sample included 74 parent\u0026ndash;adolescent dyads (one parent [mother or father] and one high-school-aged adolescent; 54 female adolescents; mean age = 16.08 years, SD = 0.45; range = 15.35-17.73 years). The participating parent was the mother in 69 dyads and the father in 5 dyads. Parents were, on average, 44.62 years old (SD = 3.50; range = 36.72\u0026ndash;55.25 years), of Chinese origin, and highly educated (71.6% held a university degree). All participants were right-handed and had no history of neurological or psychiatric disorders. Families were recruited from a high school in Hangzhou, China, as part of an ongoing longitudinal project, through school-based announcements and information sessions. Adolescents were enrolled after parents provided written informed consent. Parents and adolescents received a gift for participation. The study received approval from the ethics committee of Zhejiang University (Nos. 2025010 and 2022014).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eStudy design\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis investigation was embedded within a multi-year longitudinal project tracking Chinese parents\u0026rsquo; OP and adolescents\u0026rsquo; psychological adjustment. The present study combined two annual waves of questionnaire assessment with a laboratory fNIRS hyperscanning experiment to examine how OP relates to the neural self-other integration during real-time interaction and adolescent mental health. Measures included in the current study were selected to address hypotheses concerning OP, parent\u0026ndash;child relationship quality (adolescents\u0026rsquo; perceived self-other overlap and relationship quality), and mental health outcomes (anxiety, depression, and life satisfaction).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e Longitudinal \u003c/em\u003equestionnaire \u003cem\u003eassessment. \u003c/em\u003eAdolescents from two cohorts were followed across two annual waves. The first cohort was assessed in 2023 and 2024, and the second cohort in 2024 and 2025. OP was assessed using the validated Chinese version of the Overparenting Scale\u003csup\u003e60\u003c/sup\u003e , in which adolescents rated the extent to which their primary caregiver (mother or father) engaged in OP behaviors over the past 12 months (e.g., \u0026quot; I think he/she is too overly involved in my life\u0026quot;, \u0026quot;I feel like my he/she sometimes smothers me with his/her attention\u0026quot;) on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree); higher scores indicate greater perceived OP. Dyads were classified as high-OP and low-OP groups using a median split. Parent\u0026ndash;adolescent overlap was indexed using the Inclusion of Other in the Self Scale\u003csup\u003e61\u003c/sup\u003e, in which seven pairs of increasingly overlapping circles represent the perceived closeness; higher scores indicate greater closeness and shorter psychological distance. Mental health outcomes were measured using validated 10-item short forms of the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI)\u003csup\u003e62,63\u003c/sup\u003e and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D)\u003csup\u003e64\u003c/sup\u003e, with higher scores indicating greater anxiety or depressive symptoms, respectively. Life satisfaction was measured with the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS)\u003csup\u003e65\u003c/sup\u003e; higher scores indicate greater life satisfaction. Scores were computed following published procedures and averaged across the two waves to index stable individual differences. Internal consistency was satisfactory for all measures (Cronbach\u0026rsquo;s \u003cem\u003e\u0026alpha;\u003c/em\u003e \u0026gt; 0.76). All the questionnaires used in this study can be found in \u003cstrong\u003eTable S1-S7\u003c/strong\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e Laboratory fNIRS hyperscanning experiment.\u003c/em\u003e Conducted in 2024 (for the first cohort) and 2025 (for the second cohort), the laboratory hyperscanning session involved parent\u0026ndash;adolescent dyads sitting side-by-side at a desk. The Joint Simon task was programmed in E-Prime 3.0 (Psychology Software Tools, Pittsburgh, PA). Target stimuli were red or green squares (3 \u0026times; 3 cm) presented randomly to the left or right of fixation. The left-seated participant responded to an assigned target color by pressing the \u0026quot;Z\u0026quot; key; the right-seated participant responded to an assigned target color by pressing the \u0026quot;3\u0026quot; key on the numeric keypad. Color\u0026ndash;response mappings were counterbalanced across dyads. Spatial congruency was manipulated by aligning vs. misaligning stimulus location and response key (congruent vs. incongruent). Each dyad completed 16 practice trials followed by three experimental blocks of 48 trials for a total of 144 trials. Trial order within each block was randomized, with a 120 s inter-block interval. Each trial began with an 800 ms fixation, followed by a 1000 ms target presentation. Participants were instructed to respond as quickly and accurately as possible within the 1000 ms response window; late or incorrect responses were coded as errors. The inter-trial interval was jittered between 7000\u0026ndash;9000 ms.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003efNIRS data acquisition\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHemodynamic signals in each dyad were simultaneously recorded using a single NirSmart-6000A system (Danyang Huichuang Medical Equipment Co., Ltd., China). Each participant wore an optode probe set consisting of 19 sources and 13 detectors, configured to measure 39 channels (inter-optode distance\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;30\u0026thinsp;mm), covering the prefrontal and bilateral temporo-parietal regions. The T3 and Cz locations in the 10\u0026ndash;20 international system served as reference points for probe placement. These regions have been previously implicated in parent-child bonding and interactions in developmental fNIRS hyperscanning studies\u003csup\u003e44,66\u0026ndash;68\u003c/sup\u003e. Each source emitted light at two wavelengths (730 and 850\u0026thinsp;nm), and raw intensity signals were recorded at 11\u0026thinsp;Hz. The correspondence between NIRS channels and cortical locations was determined using the virtual registration method implemented in the NFRI toolbox\u003csup\u003e69\u003c/sup\u003e, providing probabilistic mapping of optode locations to standard brain coordinates (e.g., MNI space). \u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eData analysis \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBehavioral data analysis \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor each participant, mean reaction time (RT) for correct responses and accuracy (ACC) were calculated as behavioral indices. Trials with incorrect responses or missing responses were excluded from RT analyses. To reduce the influence of outliers, trials with RTs exceeding \u0026plusmn;2.5 standard deviations from the participant\u0026rsquo;s mean were removed\u003csup\u003e70\u003c/sup\u003e. RT and ACC were then averaged separately for each experimental condition\u003csup\u003e66\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003efNIRS data analysis\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e Preprocessing.\u003c/em\u003e fNIRS data were preprocessed using the Homer2 toolbox\u003csup\u003e71\u003c/sup\u003e. Raw optical intensity signals were first converted to optical density (OD) using the \u003cem\u003ehmrIntensity2OD\u003c/em\u003e function. Poor-quality channels were identified and removed using \u003cem\u003eenPruneChannels\u003c/em\u003e\u003csup\u003e72\u003c/sup\u003e. Motion artifacts were detected and corrected using \u003cem\u003ehmrMotionArtifactByChannel\u003c/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003ehmrMotionCorrectSpline\u003c/em\u003e\u003csup\u003e73,74\u003c/sup\u003e. The OD data were then band-pass filtered (0.01\u0026ndash;0.5 Hz) and converted to oxyhemoglobin (HbO) and deoxyhemoglobin (HbR) using \u003cem\u003ehmrOD2Conc\u003c/em\u003e. Finally, a wavelet‐based denoising method was applied to remove superficial physiological noise and reduce spurious connectivity\u003csup\u003e75\u003c/sup\u003e. Although both HbO and HbR signals were obtained, subsequent analyses focused on HbO because its higher sensitivity to cerebral blood flow\u003csup\u003e76\u003c/sup\u003e, stronger correlation with blood‐oxygenation‐level‐dependent (BOLD) signal, higher signal‐to‐noise ratio\u003csup\u003e77,78\u003c/sup\u003e, and more reproducible over sessions\u003csup\u003e79\u003c/sup\u003e, than HbR . \u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e ROI construction.\u003c/em\u003e Analyses were conducted at the region‐of‐interest (ROI) level to focus on anatomically defined areas\u003csup\u003e80\u003c/sup\u003e, reduce complexity, and control Type I error\u003csup\u003e81\u003c/sup\u003e. HbO concentrations were standardized into \u003cem\u003ez\u003c/em\u003e‐scores relative to resting‐state data. ROIs were defined by averaging the channels corresponding to the same anatomical location, with detailed channel coordinates provided in \u003cstrong\u003eTable S8\u003c/strong\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e Interbrain synchronization (IBS).\u003c/em\u003e IBS was computed for each ROI and task condition using a time‐domain cross‐correlation approach\u003csup\u003e66\u003c/sup\u003e. Preprocessed, z-scored HbO time series from corresponding channels of each dyad were cross-correlated using the \u003cem\u003excorr\u003c/em\u003e function in MATLAB. A maximum lag of \u0026plusmn;5 s (\u0026plusmn;55 samples at 11 Hz) was used, capturing task‐related IBS while minimizing spurious correlations. The peak absolute correlation coefficient within this window was taken as IBS strength. IBS values were computed separately for conditions (congruent vs. incongruent) and then averaged across channels within each ROI. Cross‐correlation was chosen over wavelet transform coherence (WTC)\u003csup\u003e82\u003c/sup\u003e to capture transient, trial-level synchronization given the short, interleaved trials.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e Granger causality analysis (GCA).\u003c/em\u003e To assess directional information flow, GCA was applied using the \u003cem\u003eMVGC\u003c/em\u003e toolbox\u003csup\u003e83,84\u003c/sup\u003e. Conditional GCA values were computed for both directions (adolescent-to-parent and parent-to-adolescent) using state‐space modeling, which provides improved statistical power and reduced bias relative to standard autoregressive estimators\u003csup\u003e83\u003c/sup\u003e. GCA was performed on preprocessed, \u003cem\u003ez\u003c/em\u003e‐scored HbO time series from each ROI during task periods, allowing quantification of information flow between brains under different experimental conditions. \u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eStatistical tests\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll analyses were conducted in MATLAB 2024a (MathWorks Inc., Natick, MA). Significance level was set to \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05. False-discovery-rate (FDR) correction was applied to account for multiple comparisons.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e Subjective measures. \u003c/em\u003eAdolescents\u0026rsquo; mental health outcomes (anxiety, depression, life satisfaction) and relational measures (self-other overlap, relationship quality) were assessed in both Year 1 and Year 2. Longitudinal changes from Year 1 to Year 2 were tested using paired-samples \u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e-tests. For group differences, independent-samples \u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e-tests were conducted between high- and low-OP groups.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e Joint Simon task performance. \u003c/em\u003eMean reaction times for correct responses and accuracy were analyzed using 2 \u0026times; 2 repeated‐measures ANOVAs, with condition (congruent vs. incongruent) as a within‐subject factor and group (high‐OP vs. low‐OP) as a between‐subject factor. \u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e IBS. \u003c/em\u003eFor each ROI, IBS values were analyzed using 2 \u0026times; 2 mixed‐effects ANOVAs with condition as a within‐subject factor and group as a between‐subject factor. \u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e GC. \u003c/em\u003eDirectional GC values were compared within dyads using Wilcoxon signed‐rank tests (parent-to-adolescent vs. adolescent-to-parent) and between groups using Mann\u0026ndash;Whitney U tests (high‐OP vs. low‐OP). Non-parametric tests were used due to that GC values were not normally distributed.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e Associations.\u003c/em\u003e Pearson correlations were used for relationships involving IBS (with JSE, mental health outcomes, and relationship quality), and Spearman correlations were used for associations involving GC, due to its non-normal distribution.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eData availability\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe data are accessible at https://osf.io/bu7fd. Statistical software used for data analysis is explicitly mentioned in the corresponding sections. This study was not preregistered.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCode availability\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCustom code used for data preprocessing and analysis is available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAcknowledgements\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32200868) to P.H.,\u0026nbsp;the National Natural Science Foundation of China (62577047, 62337001), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (226-2025-00127), and the Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (LMS25C090002) to Y.P., and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32371108) and the Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (LY24C090001) to J. 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A MATLAB toolbox for Granger causal connectivity analysis. \u003cem\u003eJournal of Neuroscience Methods\u003c/em\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e186\u003c/strong\u003e, 262\u0026ndash;273 (2010).\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"overparenting, parent-adolescent relationships, self-other integration, fNIRS hyperscanning, mental health","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9100371/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9100371/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Adolescence is a critical developmental period during which neural systems supporting social connection mature, with the parent–child bond serving as a central scaffold. Rising cultural and economic pressures have intensified overparenting (OP), which is associated with adolescent mental health risks, yet its underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In a three-year longitudinal study, we examined 74 parent–adolescent dyads stratified by OP levels. Adolescents from high-OP families reported greater anxiety and poorer relationship quality. During a joint Simon task, both groups showed self-other integration. OP significantly modulated interbrain alignment between parents and adolescents associated with self-other integration during naturalistic interactions. Granger causality analyses further revealed that only in low-OP dyads did stronger adolescent-to-parent neural influence relate to lower anxiety and depression and higher life satisfaction. These findings reveal a dual pathway of risk and resilience: OP undermines adolescent well-being, whereas autonomy-supportive contexts promote adolescent-driven neural influence that supports psychological health.","manuscriptTitle":"Overparenting blurs neural self-other integration during naturalistic parent-adolescent interactions and downgrades adolescent mental health","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-04-09 16:32:35","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9100371/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"8b5748da-3ceb-4364-9e42-7a05f09c970f","owner":[],"postedDate":"April 9th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[{"type":"decision","content":"Reject before peer review","date":"2026-05-06T20:53:12+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":64736084,"name":"Biological sciences/Psychology"},{"id":64736085,"name":"Biological sciences/Neuroscience/Social neuroscience"},{"id":64736086,"name":"Health sciences/Diseases/Psychiatric disorders/Depression"},{"id":64736087,"name":"Health sciences/Diseases/Psychiatric disorders/Anxiety"},{"id":64736088,"name":"Biological sciences/Neuroscience/Cognitive neuroscience"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-06T20:55:58+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-04-09 16:32:35","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-9100371","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-9100371","identity":"rs-9100371","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}