Effects of Growth in Family Conflict in Adolescence on Adult Depressive Symptoms: Mediating and Moderating Effects of Stress and School Bonding

Abstract 

Purpose

To (1) examine growth in family conflict during adolescence as a predictor of depressive symptoms in early adulthood, (2) examine adult stressful life events as a possible mechanism linking prior family conflict with depressive symptoms, and (3) examine adolescent school bonding as a possible moderator of family conflict and stressful life events in relation to later depression.

Methods

Analyses used a latent variable growth curve modeling approach to examine longitudinal patterns in data from the Seattle Social Development Project. Assessments of a gender-balanced and ethnically diverse sample of 754 participants were conducted from age 10 to age 27.

Results

Results show an increase in conflict each year between ages 14 and 18 for participating youth. High initial levels and growth in family conflict predicted adult stressful life events, which, in turn, predicted adult depressive symptoms, controlling for earlier risks of poverty and internalizing problems. Bonding to school in mid-adolescence did not significantly change the associations among the variables in the model.

Conclusions

Inhibiting the growth in family conflict over the course of adolescence may reduce the risk for some life stresses linked to depression in early adulthood. Although a test of the protective influence of school bonding during mid-adolescence was not significant, the study offers an example of how longitudinal patterns and protective factors can be analyzed.

Keywords: Family conflict, Depression, Stressful life events, Bonding to school, Poverty, Adolescence, Early adulthood