Trajectories of adolescent stressful life events and young adults’ socioeconomic and relational outcomes: Weight and depressive symptoms as mediators

• Published in: British journal of developmental psychology 2022-06, Vol.40 (2), p.334-351
• Main Authors: Wickrama, K.A.S., Klopack, Eric T., Sutton, Tara E.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: adolescence; Adolescent; Adolescents; Adult; Adversity; BMI; Body mass index; Body weight; Depression - psychology; depressive symptoms; Ethnicity; Humans; Interpersonal relations; Life course; Life events; Longitudinal Studies; Mental depression; Prospective Studies; Quality; Race; Social Class; Socioeconomic factors; Socioeconomic status; stress; Stress, Psychological; stressful life events; Young Adult; Young adults
• ISSN: 0261-510X; 2044-835X
• DOI: 10.1111/bjdp.12401

Little is known about how biological and psychological consequences of adolescent stressful life events (SLEs) are jointly associated with socioeconomic and relational outcomes in adulthood. To address this gap, the present study involved testing a model based on the life course perspective that posits adolescent SLE trajectories produce parallel trajectories of depressive symptoms and weight status, which are jointly associated with socioeconomic status and intimate relationship quality in adulthood. Prospective data over 13 years from a nationally representative sample of 11,677 US adolescents was utilized. The results demonstrated that trajectories of BMI and depressive symptoms, which showed contemporaneous and longitudinal comorbidities over the early life course, were influenced by adolescent SLEs. Both BMI and depressive symptoms trajectories are additively and jointly associated with socioeconomic status and intimate relationship quality in adulthood. Additionally, adolescent SLE trajectories are directly associated with these adult outcomes. These observed associations persisted even after controlling for early family socioeconomic adversity and race/ethnicity. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.