The History and Timing of Depression Onset as Predictors of Young Adult Self‐Esteem

Depression often emerges early in the lifecourse and is consistently shown to be associated with poor self‐esteem. The 3 main objectives of the current study are to (1) evaluate the association between a history major depression and self‐esteem in young adulthood, (2) assess the relationship between timing of depression onset and young adult self‐esteem, and (3) help rule out the alternative interpretation that the relationship between major depression and self‐esteem is due to state dependence bias stemming from recent depressive symptoms and stressful life events. To address these objectives we use data from a 2‐wave panel study based on a community sample of young adults in Miami‐Dade County, Florida (n=1,197). Results indicated that a history of major depression during sensitive periods of social development is associated with negative changes in self‐esteem over a 2‐year period during the transition to young adulthood. Among those with a history of depression, earlier onset was more problematic than later onset for young adult self‐esteem, although the difference disappeared once the level of self‐esteem 2 years prior was controlled. The linkages between the history and timing of depression onset with self‐esteem were observed net of recent depressive symptoms and stressful life events and are thus robust to an alternative interpretation of state dependence. The findings support the argument that major depression, especially if it develops earlier during child‐adolescent development, has negative consequences for one's self‐esteem.     

Paths to Intimate Relationship Quality From Parent–Adolescent Relations and Mental Health

Using a developmental systems perspective and public‐use longitudinal data from participants currently in a romantic relationship at Wave 4 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (n = 2,970), the current study explored direct and indirect paths from parent–adolescent relationship quality to young adult intimate relationship quality. Structural equation modeling tested whether mental health (depressive symptoms and self‐esteem) in the transition to adulthood mediated the association between parent–adolescent relations and young adult intimate relations. The results indicated that higher quality parent–adolescent relations predicted higher self‐esteem and lower depressive symptoms during the transition to adulthood as well as higher young adult intimate relationship quality, controlling for adolescent mental health and parent–young adult relationship quality. Higher self‐esteem during the transition to adulthood was associated with greater intimate relationship quality, whereas greater depressive symptomatology predicted reduced intimate relationship quality. One significant indirect path emerged: parent–adolescent relationship quality → self‐esteem → intimate relationship quality.     

Linking early social risks to impaired physical health during the transition to adulthood

The present longitudinal study of 485 youth used structural equation models to investigate the ways in which a combination of social disadvantage in the family of origin and adolescent maladjustment increases risk for physical health difficulties during adulthood. The study examined a theoretical model that proposes that disruptions in the transition to adulthood mediate the effect of earlier social disadvantage and adolescent maladjustment on young adult physical health status. Results show that early risk factors initiate a sequence of negative influences on young adult physical health through early entry into family responsibility, truncated educational attainment, and poor occupational and economic status. These associations prevailed even after controlling for physical health status during adolescence.     

Physical and mental health inequalities between native and immigrant Swedes

To study health inequalities between native and immigrant Swedes, we investigated differences in self‐rated health (SRH), mental wellbeing (MW), common symptoms (CS), and persistent illness (PI), and if socioeconomic status (SES), negative status inconsistency, or social support could account for such differences. A secondary analysis was conducted on questionnaire data from a random adult population sample of 4,023 individuals and register data from Statistics Sweden. χ² tests and binary logistic regressions were used to identify health differences and study these after accounting for explanatory variables. Compared with natives, immigrants more commonly reported negative status inconsistency, poorer SES, and poorer social support as well as poor SRH, very poor MW, and high level of CS but not PI. Significant differences were accounted for by work‐related factors and social support. We encourage future research to address how pre‐ and peri‐migration factors relate to immigrants’ post‐migration SES, social support, and health status.

Policy Implications

• Given the relationship between work‐related factors (employment status, hours worked per week, and income) and all health outcomes in this study, labour market interventions that facilitate the integration of immigrants into the labour market, and into occupations that better correspond with their capacity, will arguably have public health benefits.
• Feelings of loneliness was, in our study, important in accounting for immigrants’ poorer self‐rated health compared with natives’. Therefore, we endorse interventions that facilitate immigrants’ social networking and integration and thereby reduce feelings of loneliness.
• Common physical and mental symptoms may be important indicators of health and we, thus, suggest these to be taken into account when developing ill‐health prevention programmes.

     

Life Course Heterogeneity in the Transition from Adolescence to Adulthood Among Adolescent Mothers

Longitudinal data were used to examine pathways taken by 227 adolescent mothers during the transition from adolescence into adulthood. Latent profile analysis identified three sub‐groups of adolescent mothers from 6 months to 6 years postpartum: a problem‐prone profile (15%), a psychologically vulnerable profile (42%), and a normative profile (43%). Group membership was related to long‐term adult outcomes (adult status markers, health‐risk and deviant behaviors, substance use, mental health, and intimate relationships) when respondents were nearing age 30. The psychologically vulnerable group reported greater health and mental health problems, relational problems, and substance use than the normative profile group. Only the problem‐prone profile group, taken together, reported serious problems in all domains of adult outcomes examined including financial, relational, behavioral, and health and mental health problems. Results confirm the existence of different pathways through adolescent parenthood that are associated with adult functioning 12 years postpartum.     

Linking Self‐Regulation and Risk Proneness to Risky Sexual Behavior: Pathways through Peer Pressure and Early Substance Use

The linkages between self‐regulation in childhood, risk proneness in early adolescence, and risky sexual behavior in mid‐adolescence were examined in a cohort of children (N=518) from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. The possible mediating role of two early adolescent variables (substance use and negative peer pressure) was also examined. Self‐regulation was assessed by maternal report at ages 8–9, and risk proneness, comprising aspects of sensation seeking and decision making, was assessed by adolescent self‐report at ages 12–13. Structural equation models predicting risky sexual behavior at ages 16–17 indicated that self‐regulation operated partly through early adolescent substance use, whereas risk proneness operated through early adolescent substance use and negative peer pressure. The overall model did not differ significantly for boys and girls, although there were gender differences in the strength of particular paths. These long‐term longitudinal results support the importance of early self‐regulation and risk proneness in setting the stage for adolescent sexual risk taking and implicate substance use and negative peer pressure as processes through which risk proneness and poor self‐regulation lead to risky sexual behavior.     

Effects of Timing of Adversity on Adolescent and Young Adult Adjustment

Effects of Timing of Adversity on Adolescent and Young Adult Adjustment Abstract Exposure to adversity during childhood and adolescence predicts adjustment across development. Further, adolescent adjustment problems persist into young adulthood. This study examined relations of contextual adversity with concurrent adolescent adjustment and prospective mental health and health outcomes in young adulthood. A longitudinal sample (N = 808) was followed from age 10 through 27. Perceptions of neighborhood in childhood predicted depression, alcohol use disorders, and HIV risk in young adulthood. Further, the timing of adversity was important in determining the type of problem experienced in adulthood. Youth adjustment predicted adult outcomes, and in some cases, mediated the relation between adversity and outcomes. These findings support the importance of adversity in predicting adjustment and elucidate factors that affect outcomes into young adulthood.     

Gender and the Mental–Physical Health Connection Among U.S. Adults

Using data from the 1995, 1998, and 2001 panels of Aging, Status, and Sense of Control (ASOC) Survey, we examine gender differences in the relationship between self‐rated physical health and mental health over time (n = 2,543). Gender‐stratified path models highlight how the nature of the mental–physical health relationship changes when we use indicators of mental health that have traditionally been labeled as female sensitive (depression) or male sensitive (heavy drinking). Results show that women and men are similar in that mental health has a stronger effect on physical health than the reverse. However, this is only the case when we use gender‐sensitive measures of mental distress: Men who drink heavily and women who are depressed report poorer self‐rated physical health over time, while heavy drinking for women and depression for men have no significant effects on their self‐rated physical well‐being. These results provide evidence of a health process that is gendered in its expression but more universal in its outcome—the exact measure might vary, but men and women alike are physically harmed by mental health problems.     

Of Sex and Romance: Late Adolescent Relationships and Young Adult Union Formation

To better understand the social factors that influence the diverse pathways to family formation young adults experience today, this research investigates the association between opposite‐gender relationships during late adolescence and union formation in early adulthood. Using data from the first and third waves of the Add Health (n= 4,911), we show that, for both men and women, there is continuity between adolescent and adult relationship experiences. Those involved in adolescent romantic relationships at the end of high school are more likely to marry and to cohabit in early adulthood. Moreover, involvement in a nonromantic sexual relationship is positively associated with cohabitation, but not marriage. We conclude that the precursors to union formation patterns in adulthood are observable in adolescence.     

Parent Marital Quality and the Parent–Adolescent Relationship: Effects on Adolescent and Young Adult Health Outcomes

Although a number of studies examined the implications of marital disruption for adolescent well-being, few studied the implications of marital relationship quality on health outcomes for children in married-couple families. The present study examines how parent marital quality among intact families interacts with the quality of parent–adolescent relationships to predict physical health, mental health, and substance use in middle adolescence and early adulthood. The study uses data from the NLSY97 cohort, a nationally representative sample of adolescents who are being followed into adulthood. Predictors include the quality of the parent marital relationship, the quality of the parent–adolescent relationship, marital structure, and a number of contextual covariates and control variables. Combined parent marital quality and parent–adolescent relationship groups were developed using latent class analyses and were used to predict positive and negative health behaviors during the teen and early adult years. Results indicate that adolescents in families experiencing poor marital quality fared worse on physical health, mental health, and substance use outcomes. In addition, adolescents who reported poor relationships with at least one of their parents fared worse on outcomes. Adolescents whose parents have low-quality relationships and also have poor parent–adolescent relationships tended to fare least well across health measures. Adolescents whose parents have a high-quality relationship and who have a good parent–adolescent relationship with both parents consistently had the best outcomes. Overall, poor relationships consistently undermine mental health, physical health, and substance use. Family religious activities also consistently predict better health outcomes.     

Acculturation and Acculturation Stress: A Social‐Epidemiological Approach to Mexican Migrant Farmworkers' Health1

Utilizing a cluster sampling design to maximize representativeness, we look at the health effects of acculturation and acculturation stressors among 1,001 adult migrant farmworkers in Fresno, California. Using self‐ratings of mental and physical health as well as the CES‐D depression scale, we find that the amount of time one spends in the United States, the level of English‐language usage, as well as the intensity of acculturation stresses that one reports, are all related to declines in health. In addition, acculturation stress has more deleterious effects on self‐rated health (both physical and mental) among the more highly acculturated.     

Young Adult Substance Use and Depression as a Consequence of Delinquency Trajectories During Middle Adolescence

This longitudinal study extended work from Wiesner and Windle (2004) by examining young adult outcomes (i.e., alcohol and illicit drug use, depression) of middle‐adolescent trajectories of delinquent behavior for a community sample of 724 young women and men (at average ages 23.8 years). Each domain of young adult adjustment problems was assessed with three indicators (i.e., lifetime rates of psychiatric disorders, annual rates of psychiatric disorders, elevated levels of problem behaviors). Findings indicated specificity in trajectory‐outcome associations, with all active offender pathway groups consistently showing poorer adjustment in the domains of young adult alcohol and illicit drug use (but not depression) relative to the rare offenders. However, there was almost no evidence of differential outcomes among the four most active offender trajectory groups. Overall, this study offered limited support for the contention that differing developmental courses and experiences during middle adolescence are linked to differential outcomes in early adulthood.     

Adolescent Protective Factors Promoting Resilience in Young Adults at Risk for Depression

In a longitudinal, community-based study, adolescent protective factors for those at risk for depression were identified that were associated with resilient outcomes in young adulthood. For those with childhood risk factors for major depression, significant protective factors included family cohesion, positive self appraisals, and good interpersonal relations. Findings may help inform the development of prevention and treatment programs for adolescents vulnerable to depression. Implications for future research and clinical practice are discussed.     

Challenges in Isolating the Effect of College Attainment and Debt Accumulation on Young Adult Self‐Concept

Prior studies have found college attendance to boost self‐esteem and mastery in young adults. Yet, college attendance itself is likely influenced by self‐esteem and mastery levels experienced in adolescence. And both are likely influenced by adolescent cognitive ability and academic achievement. Using data from the NLSY79‐YA, we illustrate the difficulties in isolating the positive effect of college on young adult self‐concept. First, we estimate adolescent self‐concept trajectories for respondents and analyze whether these trajectories are predictive of college attendance and degree attainment. Second, we assess whether the inclusion of adolescent self‐concept trajectories significantly reduces the beneficial effect of college on young adult self‐esteem and mastery. We also investigate the complex temporal relationship between adolescent characteristics, debt accumulation, and young adult self‐concept. Our findings show that the positive effects of college attainment and debt accumulation on young adult self‐concept are significantly reduced when measures of adolescent self‐concept and cognitive ability are included. These results imply that the benefit of going to college or acquiring debt may be overstated when adolescent characteristics are not taken into consideration.     

Life‐Course Pathways and the Psychosocial Adjustment of Young Adult Women

We examined 7 life‐course pathways from adolescence through the early adult years and their links with general health and psychosocial adjustment among 2,290 women from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Young women who followed a pathway involving college attendance to full‐time employment with no family‐formation transitions were functioning comparatively well with respect to general health, depression, and self‐esteem. In contrast, young women who followed pathways involving early motherhood were functioning less well. Fixed‐effects models suggested that the differences were due to selection factors. Young women who followed the pathway of college to full‐time employment exhibited an increase in heavy drinking, whereas women who became married mothers exhibited a decrease in the same. Involvement in illegal behavior declined for all groups but least so for women who attended college.     

Violence in the Transition to Adulthood: Adolescent Victimization,Education, and Socioeconomic Attainment in Later Life

There is increasing speculation about links between violent victimization in childhood and adolescence and socioeconomic disadvantage in later adulthood, yet little work, either theoretical or empirical, has examined this issue. This paper integrates research on social and psychological consequences of victimization with theory and research on socioeconomic attainment to propose a theoretical model that situates adolescent victimization in the socioeconomic life course. Examination of data from a national sample of American adolescents (ages 11–17 in 1976) indicates a chain‐like sequence in which victimization diminishes educational self‐efficacy, which subsequently undermines educational performance and attainment. Through diminished educational attainment, adolescent victimization has substantial and wide‐ranging effects on socioeconomic attainment in early adulthood. Theoretical and policy implications of these findings are discussed.     

Internalizing Symptoms in Adolescents: Gender Differences in Vulnerability to Parental Distress and Discord

This longitudinal study investigated gender differences in the relation between (1) internalizing symptoms of depression and anxiety reported by adolescents, and (2) emotional distress and marital discord reported by their mothers. Structural equation modeling was used to track the relationship between these variables in a community sample of 116 males and 101 females and their parents across three data intervals roughly corresponding to early adolescence (M = 11,4), mid‐adolescence (M = 13,7), and late adolescence/early adulthood (M = 19,2). For early adolescents, there were no gender differences in the relation between internalizing symptoms and parental distress and discord. Gender differences did emerge, however, by midadolescence, at which time parental disturbances were significantly associated with internalizing symptoms in adolescent females but not adolescent males. The emergence of this risk factor during this developmental phase may help account for frequent findings that place adolescent females at higher risk for anxiety and depression than adolescent males.     

Cumulative and Relative Disadvantage as Long‐Term Determinants of Negative Self‐feelings*

We analyze the long‐term effects of neighborhood poverty and crime on negative self‐feelings of young adults. Cumulative and relative disadvantage explanations are tested with the interactive effect of (1) neighborhood and individual‐level economic disadvantage and (2) neighborhood crime and economic disadvantage. Results from a longitudinal study following adolescents to young adulthood show that the development of negative self‐feelings (a combination of depression, anxiety, and self‐derogation) is determined by relative, rather than cumulative disadvantage. The poor in affluent neighborhoods have the highest negative self‐feelings, while the relatively wealthy in poor neighborhoods have the lowest negative self‐feelings. Similarly, we find the highest increase in negative self‐feelings is found in an affluent neighborhood with crime and not in a poor neighborhood with crime.     

Light and Heavy Heterosexual Activities of Young Canadian Adolescents: Normative Patterns and Differential Predictors

The objectives of this research were to explore patterns of heterosexual activity in early adolescence and to examine the differential pathways to light and heavy heterosexuality. We utilized the National Longitudinal Survey of Canadian Children and Youth (NLSCY) in which heterosexual behaviors, as well as puberty, parenting processes, peer self‐concept, and problem behaviors were examined. The heterosexual activities of the majority of 12‐ and 13‐year‐old adolescents were largely confined to light activities of hugging, holding hands, and kissing. Heavy activities such as petting and sexual intercourse were reported less often. Using predictor variables from Cycle 1 of the NLSCY when participants were 10‐ and 11‐year‐olds, SEM analyses indicated that puberty and higher peer self‐concept shared significant direct pathways to both light and heavy heterosexuality. Heavy sexual activity, however, was uniquely associated with the risk factors of adolescent problem behaviors. Positive and hostile parenting styles were indirectly associated with light sexual activity through peer self‐concept. Positive and hostile parenting styles were also indirectly associated with heavy sexual activity through both peer‐oriented self‐concept and problem behaviors. Results support differential patterns and predictors of light and heavy sexuality in early adolescence.     

Long‐Term Physical Health Consequences of Adverse Childhood Experiences

This study examined associations between adverse childhood family experiences and adult physical health using data from 52,250 U.S. adults aged 18 to 64 from the 2009 to 2012 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. We found that experiencing childhood physical, verbal, or sexual abuse, witnessing parental domestic violence, experiencing parental divorce, and living with someone who was depressed, abused drugs or alcohol, or who had been incarcerated were associated with one or more of the following health outcomes: self‐rated health, functional limitations, diabetes, and heart attack. Adult socioeconomic status and poor mental health and health behaviors significantly mediated several of these associations. The results of this study highlight the importance of family‐based adverse childhood experiences on adult health outcomes and suggest that adult socioeconomic status (SES) and stress‐related coping behaviors may be crucial links between trauma in the childhood home and adult health.