Adolescents' Life Stressors And Mental Health Trajectories In Young Adulthood: Findings From The Nlsy97 Cohort

Authors

• Monir Hossain, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Advisor(s)

Elizabeth Baker
David Warner

Committee Member(s)

Olivio Clay
Tara Warner
Verna Keith

School

College of Arts and Sciences

Document Type

Dissertation

Department (new version)

Social & Behavioral Sciences

Date of Award

9-9-2024

Abstract

Prior research demonstrates that early life adversity lowers mental health in young adulthood; however, there has been less attention to adversity occurring in adolescence and how this affects mental health over time. Further, little research has considered how the type of adversity (here called Adolescent Life Stressors (ALSs)) may affect mental health over time differently. The life course perspective directs attention to how adversity in adolescence and the type of ALS experienced may be especially consequential to the extent that it disrupts normative adult role attainment—education, employment, marriage, and parenthood—in the transition to adulthood. To address these gaps, I use longitudinal data on 7,662 persons from the 2000-2017 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY97) and growth curve models to examine the association between seven different ALSs and poorer mental health trajectories from ages 16 to 37. Overall, I find the death of a close relative, violent victimization, homelessness, hospitalization of a close relative, incarceration of a close relative, and unemployment of a close relative in adolescence are each associated with an initial increase in poorer mental health. This increase is largest (in descending order) for homelessness, violent victimization, and death of a close relative—ALSs that signal threats to an individuals’ personal safety and identity—but these effects diminish with time, although even in adulthood persons who experienced homelessness or violent victimization report elevated poorer mental health. A close relative’s incarceration, hospitalization, and unemployment in adolescence are associated with a slight increase in poorer mental health and these differences persist into adulthood. Parental divorce in adolescence is associated with a slightly lower poorer mental health but this effect is short-lived. Sociodemographic characteristics, childhood victimization, substance use explain some of the ALSs effects, but do not eliminate them. Adult role transitions do not explain the poorer mental health of those with ALSs. These findings suggest that ALSs have long-lasting detrimental effects on mental health. Future research should examine the conditions under which these detrimental effects are greatest (e.g., late adolescence vs. emerging adulthood) and what interpersonal resources (e.g., social support) may limit their effects.

ProQuest ID

https://proquest.com/docview/3101880336