There is a well-established body of research that shows that the more adversity a young person faces, the higher their risk of poorer health and wellbeing outcomes over the course of their life.
Early adversity can range from large-scale events such as natural disasters, wars, and pandemics to more individual stressors such as maltreatment and family breakdown and dysfunction. Adversities related to young people’s experiences growing up in family environments have a significant impact on their life outcomes.
Childhood adversity was linked to greater emotional difficulties in emerging adulthood. Regardless of previous adversities, parenting practises and parenting relationships during adolescence can be an important predictor of later-life happiness.
The negative effects of worry, sadness, and self-doubt in emerging adults were associated with hostility in parent-adolescent relationships, such as frequent criticism and getting upset at disagreements. Parent-adolescent relationships that promoted connectedness, as well as parenting that provided supportive monitoring of adolescents, were associated with higher levels of positive wellbeing.
Adolescents exhibit more positive skills in emerging adulthood when their parents provide them with encouragement, affection, and open communication about ideas, activities, and life. They are more capable of setting goals, being self-sufficient, and effectively communicating their thoughts and feelings. Significantly, both the positive effects of supportive parenting and the negative effects of hostility were found to be independent of the influence of childhood adversity. This means that children who face adversity may have a better chance of improving their wellbeing as adults if they receive effective parenting practises and have a positive parent-adolescent relationship.
Perspective on the Future
Adolescents who develop healthy habits around planning, anticipating consequences, and working toward their future are more likely to thrive and succeed in adulthood. However, adversity and parenting may have an impact on their future orientation.
Adolescents were at risk of low future orientation if they had experienced a single or multiple types of adversity, such as parental separation and divorce, a household substance use problem, a household mental health condition, or domestic violence, according to our findings. The findings also revealed that adolescents who received effective parenting that was non-hostile and high on communication and monitoring were more likely to have a strong future orientation.
This suggests that, while young people are less likely to have future-related thoughts and actions if they have experienced a single or multiple types of adversity, effective parenting and non-hostile parent-adolescent relationships support their future orientation. Adolescents who have both adversity and poor parenting may be at a higher risk than others.
The policy response should be a clear policy agenda?
More research is required, particularly longitudinal studies that follow individuals from childhood to adulthood and use multiple data sources. Our findings, on the other hand, provide hope that if we can increase the likelihood that vulnerable adolescents are supported by effective parenting, they will have a better chance of benefiting from healthy wellbeing and a positive future orientation as they enter the adult world.
This entails expanding the reach and impact of evidence-based parenting programmes, which are currently not widely available at the population level. Increased government funding for parenting education and supports that are evidence-based and easily accessible, and free from stigma, can give parents and caregivers the tools and confidence they need to best support their children.
It is critical that government funding schemes prioritise parenting interventions as funding priorities. More funding for parenting research would help to expand the evidence base and support the development, implementation, and dissemination of parenting interventions to improve life outcomes for more children and families.
Greater investment in research and implementation of evidence-based parenting programmes would benefit families across Australia. To ensure that supports are adequate and appropriate for the diverse needs and contexts of families, population-level and targeted programmes are required.
Prioritizing evidence-based parenting supports is critical if we are to reduce the impact of adversity throughout life and support all young people and their families in living their best lives now and in the future.
