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To explore whether positive family relationships may protect against the development of depression, researchers analyzed data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, a nationally representative cohort of nearly 21,000 adolescents in grades 7 to 12 who were followed at intervals from 1994 to 2017. Participants were aged 12 to 21 at the beginning of the study and 32 to 42 at its conclusion. Outcomes included depressive symptoms (measured with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale), family cohesion, and parent-child conflict. Statistical models incorporated various risk and protective factors and propensity score weighting.
Positive family relationships during adolescence were associated with lower de…