Poor Family Relationships in Adolescence and the Risk of Premature Death: Findings from the Stockholm Birth Cohort Study

Abstract

Poor family relationships during childhood have been shown to have long-term negative effects on an offspring’s health. However, few studies have followed the offspring to retirement age, and relatedly, knowledge about the link between poor family relationships and premature death is scarce. The aim of this study was to examine the association between poor family relationships in adolescence and the risk of premature death, even when considering other adverse childhood conditions. Prospective data from the Stockholm Birth Cohort study were used, with 2636 individuals born in 1953 who were followed up until age 65. Information on family relations was based on interviews with the participants’ mothers in 1968. Information on mortality was retrieved from administrative register data from 1969–2018. Cox proportional hazards regressions showed that poor family relationships in adolescence were associated with an increased risk of premature death, even when adjusting for childhood conditions in terms of household social class, household economic poverty, contact with the child services, parental alcohol abuse, and parental mental illness (Hazard Ratio (HR), 2.08, 95% Confidence Interval (CI), 1.40–3.09). The findings show that poor family relationships in adolescence can have severe and long-lasting health consequences, highlighting the importance of early interventions.

Relevant Factors in Adolescent Well-Being: Family and Parental Relationships

“…As Alm et al state in their 2019 research, dysfunctional family relationships can have a negative impact on children’s emotional and social competence, which in turn can hinder healthy development and ultimately affect health [ 39 ]. In addition to positive relationships with the family, in other research, positive peer relationships were found to be an important factor in adolescent well-being [ 40 , 41 ]; therefore, it is important that the family is also involved or ensures that adolescents have a group of equals that favors their well-being.…”

Poor family relationships in adolescence as a risk factor of in-patient psychiatric care across the life course: A prospective cohort study

“…However, although the present study showed that the association between poor family relationships in childhood and in-patient psychiatric care was weaker as the individuals grew older, it is possible that adverse family relationships in childhood may have other harmful consequences that last into late adulthood. Indeed, prior studies have reported links between poor parent–child relationships in childhood and physical health problems in mid-adulthood [ 3 , 9 ], and a recent study based on data from the SBC showed poor family relationships in adolescence to be linked with an increased risk of premature death up until late adulthood [ 5 ].…”

“…The remaining cases were divided into two groups of about equal size to capture ‘good’ and ‘intermediate’ family relationships, again in a relative sense. This trichotomised measure of family relationships has been used previously [ 5 ].…”

“…More common and less severe types of dysfunctional family relationships, such as poor emotional responsiveness and family discord, were also predictive of later psychiatric disorders, but in order to draw more robust conclusions about causality in such associations, further research was called for [ 1 ]. Indeed, more recent studies have demonstrated poor family relationships during upbringing to be linked with an increased risk of mental-health problems later in life [ 2 – 4 ] and even with premature death [ 5 ]. However, studies following individuals as long as until late adulthood are scarce.…”

Adolescent Inpatient Mental Health Admissions: An Exploration of Interpersonal Polyvictimization, Family Dysfunction, Self-Harm and Suicidal Behaviours

“…Contrarily, adolescents who are faced with unsupportive familial relationships [60], hostility in the home [61] or may have a parent [62][63][64] or sibling with mental health issues [64] may be at greater risk for their own mental health concerns. Adolescents living in such environments are at an increased risk of suicide, substance use, mood disorders and issues with eating [2].…”