Family dynamics in adolescence affect midlife well-being

This longitudinal study explores the association between family system characteristics measured during adolescence and later midlife well-being. Home interviews were held in the 1970s with 99 families with adolescents. Connection and individuation in the family system were coded from taped family interactions. Twenty-five years later, telephone interviews were conducted with 54 men and 120 women (representing 82 families) who were adolescents in the 1970s interviews. Family experiences during adolescence predicted adult well-being 25 years later. In a structural equation model, there was a direct effect of family both on the adolescents' later marriage and on well-being at midlife; for men, marriage also affected well-being. The results support the importance of connection and individuation in the adolescent family for adult well-being.