Grant: Operating Grant

Can we predict adult health based on youth characteristics and experiences? This question is addressed in an interdisciplinary program of research that will use six waves of data to follow a cohort of youth (initially ages 12 to 18) across a total of 10 years. Our research aims to inform strategies for community development, policy and education that can to advance healthy foundations for young adults. Assuming a lifespan, perspective, we hypothesize that health and health risk behaviors affect each other and are affected by risks and protective factors that characterize both individuals and the contexts in which the live. We highlight an important set of indicators that, together, paint a profile of health and health risks in the early adult years (physical health, mental health, stable relationships, low health risk behaviors and accruing labour market capital).We hypothesize that changes in these five interdependent indicators of health in young adulthood are, to some degree, founded on stable individual differences that are already evident in adolescence. We also examine the prospective effects of multivariate risk factors (including disruptions and conflict in family of origin, deviant peer associations, serious injuries, weight gain, early school leaving, and early parenting, relationship aggression) and protective factors (family support [financial and emotional], peer support, on time graduation from high school, postsecondary school engagement, stable romantic relationships). These predictors can be and have been targeted by policy and prevention programs aiming to improve health across the lifespan and they have been extensively shown to effect late adolescent outcomes, however, their significance for health in young adulthood is largely unknown.