Others flourished, graduated at the top of their class and went on to earn advanced degrees and start families of their own. Most recently, a subgroup thought to be the most at risk as children were interviewed in 1998 when they were in their late 20s. Of that group, several had battled depression. But many of those in supportive relationships and successful careers had overcome or never experienced depression, said researcher Dina Carbonell. That could help more things go right for people with risk factors in their lives.
Parents do split up and drink and do drugs.
But there are ways to learn to cope with that. Today the study is one of the longest-ever continuously funded studies of child development paid for by the federal government. Back in its infancy, breaking records was never the goal, Reinharz said. Instead, researchers were simply looking for ways to study how children cope with stress, she said. I thought we would continue for three years, nothing more.