Emotional Support From Parents Early in Life, Aging, and Health.

TLDR

The study estimates how early parental emotional support relates to adult health. Adult personal control, self‑esteem, and social relationships largely explain the long‑term effects. Adults who lacked parental emotional support in childhood show higher depressive symptoms and chronic conditions, and these effects persist into older age, highlighting the need for a life‑course view of health determinants.

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to estimate the relationship between receiving emotional support from parents early in life and an individual's health in adulthood. Analysis of data from a nationally representative sample of adults ages 25-74 years suggests that a lack of parental support during childhood is associated with increased levels of depressive symptoms and chronic conditions in adulthood. These associations between early parental support and adult health persist with increasing age throughout adulthood. Personal control, self-esteem, and social relationships during adulthood account for a large portion of these long-term associations. These findings underscore the importance of adopting a life course perspective in studying the social determinants of health among adults.