["Family Relations, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\n\nObjective\nThis study employed a person‐centered approach to identify latent profiles of helicopter parenting and examine their associations with adolescent depression, with particular focus on the mediating role of basic psychological needs.\n\n\nMethod\nThe investigation surveyed adolescents from a region in China (N = 1628, Mage = 12.26 ± 0.47 years, 53.81% male). Participants completed validated questionnaires assessing helicopter parenting, basic psychological needs, and depression.\n\n\nResults\nLatent profile analysis revealed five patterns: High helicopter parenting group, Moderate helicopter parenting group, Low helicopter parenting group, Unbalanced group: high emphasis on academic performance and Unbalanced group: low emphasis on academic performance. Relative mediation analysis demonstrated that, when using the moderate helicopter parenting group as reference, most other profiles were associated with higher levels of depression, with the exception of the Unbalanced group: low emphasis on academic performance. Notably, high helicopter parenting exhibited a protective function by satisfying adolescents' basic psychological needs, thereby mitigating depression risk. Conversely, both low helicopter parenting and Unbalanced group: high emphasis on academic performance were associated with lower basic psychological needs fulfillment, consequently exacerbating depression risk.\n\n\nConclusion\nThese findings reveal a complex mechanism of high helicopter parenting in the Chinese cultural context. Importantly, the results highlight the detrimental effects of both insufficient parenting involvement and imbalanced parenting approaches on Chinese adolescents' psychological well‐being.\n\n"]