Problem:
We find that hardships throughout the early life course matter significantly for adolescent outcomes. More recent hardships may offset the effect of early childhood hardships; however, hardships experienced at age 9 are associated with mental health at age 15 even when controlling for more recent hardships. Future research should continue exploring this late childhood/early adolescent period, as it is a transition period between childhood and adolescence when social cognition is developing in new ways (Blakemore & Mills, 2014; Mittleman, 2019). Adolescents may be particularly sensitive to material hardships because they understand that these experiences are atypical and indicate some type of distress within the family. This may be distracting and discouraging to them, contributing to their symptoms of anxiety and depression. Given the important long-term effects of poor adolescent mental health, such as decreased academic performance and attainment, poor social outcomes, and worse performance in the labor market after high school (McEwan et al., 2007; Van Langdeghem & Hess, 2005), it is essential that scholars, policymakers, and medical professionals understand important factors across the early life course that contribute to mental health in adolescence. Promoting policies and access to resources that alleviate material hardships throughout childhood are essential to improving adolescent mental health. Need Assignment Help?