Early Family Transitions and Depressive Symptom Changes From Adolescence to Early Adulthood

Some research and theory suggest that early cohabitation, parenthood, and marriage have negative long-term implications. Nevertheless, in the context of their resources and opportunities, early transitions may represent positive choices for some individuals. We studied the family and personal characteristics of young adults (N = 8,172) who did, versus those who did not, make early family transitions. We assessed changes in their depressive symptoms from adolescence to young adulthood. Individuals who made early family transitions were disadvantaged in many respects, but differed little from those who did not with respect to changes in depressive symptoms. That they stay "even" with those who do not make transitions suggests that some young adults make positive choices from among limited options. Key Words: cohabitation, depression, emergent adulthood, life events, life transitions, marital status, transition to parenthood, youth. From a developmental perspective, emerging adulthood, the period from 18 to 25 years of age, has been described as a time for identity exploration in the domains of worldviews, love, and work among youth in modern industrialized societies (Arnett, 2000). From this perspective, identity exploration is made possible by delaying the assumption of adult roles such as marriage and parenthood. An extended period of identity formation, in turn, serves as a foundation for making positive choices and creating a stable, satisfying life structure (Arnett). By implication, individuals who fail to postpone family role transitions miss out on opportunities (e.g., for education and work experience), make poor choices (e.g., about romantic partners), and consequently may experience adjustment problems. Some demographic research is consistent with this perspective. For instance, parenting during the years of emerging adulthood has been linked to socioeconomic disadvantage and marital instability over the long term (e.g., Astone & Upchurch, 1994). Early marriage is linked to increases in fertility that may foreclose socioeconomic opportunities (e.g., Teachman, Polonko, & Leigh, 1987) and decrease educational (e.g., Marini, 1985) and occupational achievement (e.g., Otto, 1979). Little is known about the implications of cohabitation during emerging adulthood; this can be viewed as an alternative to marriage (Brown & Booth, 1996), a step toward marriage, or as an alternative to singlehood (Rindfuss & Vanden Heuvel, 1990). In the face of the aforementioned theory and research, we explore an alternative scenario. We begin with the idea that opportunities to treat young adulthood as a time of exploration are not open to all individuals given their personal, social, and economic resources. In these cases, early family transitions may not have the same negative implications as they do in the case of more privileged individuals. In this scenario, some young adults make early family transitions because they expect to benefit from them. Indeed, research shows that marrying, cohabiting, and becoming a parent, at least at older ages, provides a range of benefits (Coleman, 1988). These include increasing social capital that buffers individuals from stressful life circumstances, fostering a sense of belonging and social connection, and providing more positive living arrangements. Increases in economic capital, such as income from a partner, are also possible (e.g., Pears, Pierce, Kim, Capaldi, & Owen, 2005). Although some theory and research support the proposition that early family formation has long-term negative consequences, these findings suggest that some young adults may benefit from family transitions. To date, researchers have not examined the short-term outcomes of transitions, particularly in the domain of psychological adjustment wherein positive implications of family transitions may be most apparent. To test our alternative scenario, this study addressed two questions. …