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

Susanne Alm,Sara Brolin Låftman,Hannes Bohman

doi:10.3390/ijerph16101690

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.

Highlights

Conditions are central for children’s opportunities to lead a healthy life
As regards economic and social problems in the family of origin, 12.3 percent suffered from economic problems, whereas between 1.7–2.9 percent scored positive on the three indicators of social problems, i.e., contact with the child services as a consequence of the study individual’s behavior at age 7–12 years, parental alcohol abuse, and parental mental illness
Regarding the unadjusted estimates, all factors included in the model were related to the risk of premature death, and all but parental mental illness were statistically significant at the 5% level

Summary

Introduction

Conditions are central for children’s opportunities to lead a healthy life. One important aspect is the family social environment. A close relationship between the child and at least one caregiver is crucial for a positive emotional and social development [1]. A safe and supportive family environment during upbringing is likely to provide the child with emotional security and a sense of social integration which are conducive elements for a healthy development. Family relationships affect child development and the offspring’s mental and physical health across the life course [2]. One core aspect of family relationships is family cohesion, which

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