Study links teen parent-child closeness to stronger adult social connections

A study published this week in JAMA Pediatrics found that close, nurturing relationships with parents during middle and high school were associated with stronger social connections up to two decades later, according to an analysis of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health.

Researchers used responses from 7,018 participants, averaging answers about family understanding, fun together, feeling cared for and wanted into individual “family connection scores” and grouping participants into quartiles. As adults, the same people reported on the structure, function and quality of their social ties, including outcomes such as having three or more close friends or socializing at least once a week.

After controlling for factors such as race, gender and parental education, the authors found that high social connection in adulthood was more than twice as common among those who had the strongest family ties in youth compared with those who had the weakest. The prevalence of high adult social connection was 39.5 percent in the highest quartile of family connection versus 16.1 percent in the lowest, with intermediate quartiles at 28.6 percent and 22 percent; the difference between highest and lowest was 23.4 percentage points and the association was consistent across all six metrics.

Commentators noted the value of a long-term, prospective design rather than relying on adult recall.

jama pediatrics, national longitudinal study, parent-child relationship, family connection scores, high social connection, three or more close friends, socializing once a week, two decades later, dr. robert c. whitaker, parenting during adolescence