Quality of relationships with parents and friends in adolescence predicts metabolic risk in young adulthood.

Abstract

Objective The present study was designed to examine whether family and peer relationships in adolescence predict the emergence of metabolic risk factors in young adulthood. Methods Participants from a large, nationally representative cohort study (N = 11,617 for these analyses) reported on their relationship experiences with parents and close friends during adolescence. Fourteen years later, interviewers collected blood samples, as well as anthropometric and blood pressure measurements. Blood samples were analyzed for HbA1c. Results Ordered logistic regressions revealed that for females, supportive parent-child relationships and close male friendships in adolescence were associated with reduced odds of having elevated metabolic risk markers in young adulthood. These effects remained significant even after controlling for baseline measures of body mass index (BMI) and health and demographic covariates. The protective effects of close relationships were not significant for males, however. Exploratory analyses with two-parent families revealed that supportive father-child relationships were especially protective for females. Conclusions These findings suggest that, for females, close and supportive relationships with parents and male friends in adolescence may reduce the risk of metabolic dysregulation in adulthood.

Adolescent Socioeconomic Status and Parent-Child Emotional Bonds: Reexamining Gender Differences in Mental Well-being during Young Adulthood

“…For instance, social or economic advantages growing up may make postsecondary education, full-time work, and marriage more likely following high school, while stifled relationships with parents or a lack of economic resources could make these transitions less likely. Finally, mechanisms involving peer relationships and peer networks should be examined explicitly as peer relationships may either reinforce or compensate for relationships with parents (Ehrlich et al 2015; Gutman and Sameroff 2004; Vaughan et al 2010). Because these contemporaneous social and economic mechanisms may further shape the resource interplays we examined in this study, they may provide more precision for understanding any additional contours within the patterns identified here.…”

Impacts of Adolescent and Young Adult Civic Engagement on Health and Socioeconomic Status in Adulthood

“…Each metabolic risk marker was standardized within the sample, with the exception of waist circumference, which was standardized within gender due to gender differences in body composition. Participants were categorized into quartiles for each marker, and participants in the top quartile were considered to be at high risk (Ehrlich, Hoyt, Sumner, McDade, & Adam, ). Then, we summed across markers to create a metabolic risk composite.…”

“This Is My Responsibility”: Parental Experience of Former Soviet Union Immigrant Parents in Israel

“…Despite high levels of interpersonal conflict, maintaining high-quality relationships with family has important implications for adolescents' mental and physical health (Ehrlich, Hoyt, Sumner, McDade, & Adam, 2015;Kahn, Holmes, Farley, & Kim-Spoon, 2015). Parent-adolescent relationship quality is significantly influenced by such parenting practices as warmth, responsiveness, positive reinforcement, behavioral control, and openness in communication (Kahn, et al, 2015;Kearney & Bussey, 2014).…”