When friendships surpass parental relationships as predictors of long-term outcomes: Adolescent relationship qualities and adult psychosocial functioning

Developmental trajectories of adolescent internalizing symptoms and parental responses to distress

Parents' responses to their children's negative emotions are a central aspect of emotion socialization that have well-established associations with the development of psychopathology. Yet research is lacking on potential bidirectional associations between parental responses and youth symptoms that may unfold over time. Further, additional research is needed on sociocultural factors that may be related to the trajectories of these constructs. In this study, we examined associations between trajectories of parental responses to negative emotions and adolescent internalizing symptoms and the potential role of youth sex and racial identity. Adolescents and caregivers (N = 256) completed six assessments that spanned adolescent ages 13-18 years. Multivariate growth models revealed that adolescents with higher internalizing symptoms at baseline experienced increasingly non-supportive parental responses over time (punitive and distress responses). By contrast, parental responses did not predict initial levels of or changes in internalizing symptoms. Parents of Black youth reported higher minimization and emotion-focused responses and lower distress responses compared to parents of White youth. We found minimal evidence for sex differences in parental responses. Internalizing symptoms in early adolescence had enduring effects on parental responses to distress, suggesting that adolescents may play an active role in shaping their emotion socialization developmental context.

Feeling socially connected to others is linked to better emotion regulation in adolescent girls' daily lives: An ecological momentary assessment study

Developing effective emotion regulation ability to manage negative emotion (NE) is critical during adolescence. Social baseline theory posits social connectedness may impact adolescents' everyday emotion regulation. This study examined the relation between social connectedness and NE after a negative social interaction (emotion regulation) and whether contextual factors moderate the association. Adolescent girls (N = 114; Mage = 12.26, SD = 0.8) from a midsized Midwestern U.S. city (67.5% White, 19.3% Black/African American, 9.6% biracial, 1.8% Asian, 1.8% Native American/other race; 8.8% Latinx) completed a 16-day ecological momentary assessment (EMA) protocol, reporting current NE, current social context and social connectedness, peak NE, and receipt of co-regulatory support. Multilevel models were used to examine direct associations of social connectedness on emotion regulation, defined as current NE regressed on peak NE, and moderation of the social connectedness-emotion regulation association by social context, co-regulatory support, and adolescent shyness. Greater within- and between-person social connectedness was associated with better emotion regulation (greater reductions in NE). However, the within-person association depended on girls' social context: Compared to being with solely peers and/or non-family, being with family was associated with a weaker association between social connectedness and emotion regulation. Similarly, receiving in-the-moment co-regulatory support was associated with a weakened link between within-person social connectedness and emotion regulation, which appeared to be driven by reports of co-rumination. Results indicate that social connectedness is associated with better emotion regulation among girls, particularly in interactions with peers and non-family compared to family, highlighting the value of social connection with peers and non-family members. However, co-rumination disrupts the benefits of social connectedness, suggesting social connectedness is not beneficial during maladaptive co-regulatory processes.

Pathways from adolescent close friendship struggles to adult negative affectivity

This 19-year prospective study applied a social development lens to the challenge of identifying long-term predictors of adult negative affectivity. A diverse community sample of 169 individuals was repeatedly assessed from age 13 to age 32 using self-, parent-, and peer-reports. As hypothesized, lack of competence establishing and maintaining close friendships in adolescence had a substantial long-term predictive relation to negative affectivity at ages 27-32, even after accounting for prior depressive, anxious, and externalizing symptoms. Predictions also remained robust after accounting for concurrent levels of depressive symptoms, indicating that findings were not simply an artifact of previously established links between relationship quality and depressive symptoms. Predictions also emerged from poor peer relationships within young adulthood to future relative increases in negative affectivity by ages 27-32. Implications for early identification of risk as well as for potential preventive interventions are discussed.

Unique roles of adolescents' friends and fathers in predicting verbal aggression in future adult romantic relationships

This 20-year prospective study examined verbal aggression and intense conflict within the family of origin and between adolescents and their close friends as predictors of future verbal aggression in adult romantic relationships. A diverse community sample of 154 individuals was assessed repeatedly from age 13 to 34 years using self-, parent, peer, and romantic partner reports. As hypothesized, verbal aggression in adult romantic relationships was best predicted by both paternal verbal aggression toward mothers and by intense conflict within adolescent close friendships, with each factor contributing unique variance to explaining adult romantic verbal aggression. These factors also interacted, such that paternal verbal aggression was predictive of future romantic verbal aggression only in the context of co-occurring intense conflict between an adolescent and their closest friend. Predictions remained robust even after accounting for levels of parental abusive behavior toward the adolescent, levels of physical violence between parents, and the overall quality of the adolescent's close friendship. Results indicate the critical importance of exposure to aggression and conflict within key horizontal relationships in adolescence. Implications for early identification of risk as well as for potential preventive interventions are discussed.

Academic Achievement, Externalizing Problems, and Close Friends in Middle School: Testing a Developmental Cascade Model Leading to Educational Attainment in the Late Twenties

Because educational attainment is associated with well-being in the long term, it is important to understand the developmental processes that enhance academic outcomes during adolescence. Also, although the importance of friends is well documented in adolescence, little is known about how close friends' characteristics work together with youth's own characteristics to shape adolescents' educational trajectories. This study fills an important gap in knowledge by focusing on how middle school students' academic achievement and externalizing problems are associated with their friends' achievement and externalizing problems over time, and how these variables predict educational attainment in adulthood. This study innovates by examining developmental cascades involving adolescents' academic achievement, externalizing problems, and these characteristics in their close friends in the context of random-intercept cross-lagged panel modeling (RI-CLPM), which disentangles within-person changes and between-person differences during the three years of middle school. The sample included 998 middle school students (Mage at recruitment: 12.21 years old; SD = 0.37 years), 42.3% of whom were European Americans, 29.0% African Americans, 6.8% Latinos, 5.2%, Asian Americans, 16.2% youth of other ethnicities, including mixed ethnicity, and 47.3% were female. At the within-person level, only one type of interdomain cascade was corroborated, as youth displaying high levels of externalizing problems reported close friendships with low-achieving friends in the next year. At the between-person level, only the random intercept representing the stability of adolescents' academic achievement throughout middle school predicted educational attainment in adulthood (average of 28 years old). In essence, this study clarifies that the etiological mechanisms leading up to adult educational attainment involve only adolescents' own stable academic achievement, and not their externalizing behaviors or friends' academic achievement and externalizing behaviors.

Adolescent Peer Relationship Difficulties, Prosociality, and Parental Emotion Socialization: Moderating Roles of Adolescent Gender

The present study examined longitudinal, transactional associations between youth social adjustment (prosociality, peer relationship difficulties) and parental emotion socialization in early adolescence. Adolescent gender was considered as a potential moderator. Eighty-seven adolescent-parent dyads (50 girls, 37 boys) participated in 8th grade, with follow-up waves in 9th and 10th grade. Adolescents reported their experiences of peer victimization and their parents' emotion socialization responses, and parents reported youth prosocial behavior and peer relation problems. Hierarchical linear modeling results indicated transactional associations between parent supportive/unsupportive responses and adolescent peer relations and prosociality over time, some of which were moderated by adolescent gender. Increases in parental supportive emotion socialization corresponded to decreased experiences of peer victimization over time for girls, but not boys. When peer victimization increased over time, girls reported less parental supportive responses and all adolescents reported receiving more unsupportive responses from parents. For all adolescents, parents' increased supportive responses also corresponded to decreased peer problems and increased prosocial behavior. As prosocial behavior increased, so did parental supportive responses. Increases in parents' unsupportive responses related to decreased prosocial behavior, and increases in adolescent prosocial behavior related to decreases in parents' unsupportive responses. Results suggest that there is mutual influence between parent emotion socialization and adolescent social adjustment. Adolescent girls appear to uniquely benefit from parents' supportive emotional socialization in relation to their experiences of peer victimization. Potential mechanisms and implications are discussed.

Exploring adolescent suicidal trajectories: The intersection of race/ethnicity, gender, and social connectedness

INTRODUCTION

Understanding adolescent racial/ethnic and gender disparities in suicidal ideation and attempts longitudinally can help curb future suicidal risk.

METHODS

Survey data (1994-2008) from the Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health study, n = 18,887) examined racial/ethnic and gender ideation and attempt disparities over four waves of data from across the United States (51% female; 51% White; Mage = 17.43 years at Wave 1). Repeated-measures latent class analyses described how ideation and attempt patterns present longitudinally and how racial/ethnic minority groups predict different classes based on each wave and age-appropriate social supports (i.e., parents, peers).

RESULTS

Those most at-risk disclosed ideation and some attempt risk in early adolescence (Waves 1 and 2) and mostly identified as female. The second most prevalent group first disclosed ideation in their 20s and predominately identified as non-Hispanic White females. Peer connections were not significant for most groups except for non-Hispanic White males in Wave 3, while Black females who reported stronger school connections had decreased ideation and attempt rates in Wave 1 but not 2 (just 1 year later). A negative link between social supports and high-risk ideation and attempt classes was found among Black females, non-Hispanic Whites, and Latinos overall.

CONCLUSIONS

As the United States becomes more diverse, understanding the unique ideation and attempt disparities are crucial. Tailoring interventions to include risk and protective mechanisms among intersectional communities could eradicate disparities. Longitudinal studies can illuminate how protective and risk factors can change over time and even within and among racial/ethnic and gender groups.

Friend Emotional Support and Dynamics of Adolescent Socioemotional Problems

Emotional support from friends is a crucial source of social support for adolescents, significantly influencing their psychological development. However, previous research has primarily focused on how this support correlates with general levels of socioemotional problems among adolescents, neglecting the significance of daily fluctuations in these problems. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between friend emotional support and both the average and dynamic indicators of daily emotional and peer problems in adolescents. These dynamic indicators include within-domain dynamics-such as inertia, which reflects the temporal dependence of experiences, and volatility, which indicates within-person variance-and cross-domain dynamics, such as transactional effects, which measure the strength of concurrent or lagged associations between daily emotional and peer problems. Participants were 315 seventh-grade Chinese adolescents (Mage = 13.05 years, SD = 0.77 years; 48.3% girls). Adolescents reported on their friends' emotional support at baseline and then completed measures of daily emotion and peer problems over a 10-day period. Using dynamic structural equation models, the results revealed that higher levels of friend emotional support were associated with fewer daily socioemotional problems. This was evident both in terms of average levels and dynamic aspects, characterized by lower mean levels of daily emotional and peer problems, reduced inertia and volatility of these problems, and a weaker spillover effect from daily emotional issues to peer problems. These findings highlight the significant role of friend-emotional support in mitigating adolescents' daily socioemotional challenges.

Early maternal guidance of mother-child emotion dialogues predicts adolescents' attachment representations: a longitudinal study

This study examined the contribution of early vs. concurrent maternal guidance of emotion dialogues with their children to the security and coherence of the children's attachment representations as adolescents. Maternal Sensitive Guidance was assessed from mother-child emotion dialogues when participants were preschoolers (approximate age 4 years) and young adolescents (approximate age 12.5 years), along with an assessment of adolescents' attachment representations using the Friends and Family Interview (FFI). Mothers' Sensitive Guidance in preschool predicted adolescents' coherence in the FFI, secure maternal (but not paternal) representations, and a positive representation of sibling relationships. In contrast, mothers' concurrent Sensitive Guidance was related only to adolescents' sibling relationships. These results highlight the significance of mothers' sensitive guidance of emotion dialogues during the early years for their children's later attachment representations, and point to the need for further examination of mothers' role when they guide emotion dialogues with their adolescents.

Developmental cascades from maternal depressive symptoms in childhood to adolescents' friendship quality: A 13-year longitudinal study

Adolescent friendships of positive quality promote well-being for decades to come. But what impedes the development of positive friendship quality? The present study examined whether maternal depressive symptoms during early childhood predict children's friendship quality into adolescence, and whether observed negative parenting behavior and children's earlier friendship quality, social skills, and their own depressive symptoms in middle childhood mediate these associations. We used six waves of data from a prospective longitudinal community sample (N = 396). The study followed children and their mothers across 13 years from child ages 2-15 years (52% female, 67% White, 26% Black), collecting multi-informant data (from mothers, children, teachers, and behavioral observations). The significance of indirect effects was estimated with structural equation modeling. Exposure to high levels of maternal depressive symptoms in early childhood (child ages 2-5 years) was negatively correlated with children's later adolescent friendship quality (at age 15). Structural equation models revealed that this association was mediated by children's poorer social skills (age 7) and friendship quality (age 10). Negative parenting behavior and children's depressive symptoms did not mediate this association. Maternal depressive symptoms have downstream associations with children's friendship quality into adolescence, including via children's social skills. Promoting the social skills of children exposed to maternal depressive symptoms could have long-term positive effects. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Adolescent social learning within supportive friendships: Self-disclosure and relationship quality from adolescence to adulthood

This study examines links between self-disclosure and relationship quality with close friends from adolescence to adulthood. A diverse community sample of adolescents (N = 184) participated in survey and observational measures annually from ages 13 through 29, along with their close friends and romantic partners. Random intercept cross-lagged panel modeling (RICLPM) was used to parse markers of within-individual change from age 13 to 18. Long-term longitudinal path models also investigated cascading associations among self-disclosure and relationship quality, on aggregate, from adolescence to adulthood. Adolescents who reported a higher-quality friendship in a given year demonstrated greater-than-expected increases in self-disclosure the following year, and an adolescent demonstrated high self-disclosure one year reported greater-than-expected increases in friendship quality the following year. Higher mean self-disclosure in adolescence predicted higher mean self-disclosure in adulthood. Results are interpreted as identifying high-quality adolescent friendships as key contexts for developing intimacy-building capacities (i.e. self-disclosure), which sets the stage for satisfying close relationships in adulthood.

Empathy across three generations: From maternal and peer support in adolescence to adult parenting and child outcomes

This study examined the development of empathic care across three generations in a sample of 184 adolescents in the United States (99 female, 85 male; 58% White, 29% African American, 8% mixed race/ethnicity, 5% other groups), followed from their family of origin at age 13 into their parenting years (through their mid-30s). Mothers' empathic support toward adolescents at age 13 predicted teens' empathy for close friends across adolescence (13-19 years). Participants' empathic support for friends in late adolescence predicted more supportive parenting behavior in adulthood, which in turn was associated with their children's empathy at age 3-8 years. Results suggest that individuals "pay forward" the empathic care they receive from parents, and that skills developed in adolescent friendships may inform later parenting.

Vulnerable self-disclosure co-develops in adolescent friendships: Developmental foundations of emotional intimacy

This study examines the development of vulnerable self-disclosure in supportive interactions from ages 13 to 29. A diverse community sample (N = 184; 85 boys 99 girls; 58% white, 29% Black, 13% other identity groups) participated in annual observed interactions with close friends and romantic partners. Participants were observed as they sought and provided support to their best friends each year from age 13 to 18, and as they sought support from their romantic partners from age 19 to 29. Random intercept cross-lagged panel models were used to parse markers of within-individual change in vulnerable self-disclosure observed annually across ages 13 to 18. A follow-up regression model also investigated cascading associations from vulnerable self-disclosure in adolescent friendships to vulnerable self-disclosure in adult romantic relationships. When adolescents sought support, they demonstrated greater-than-expected increases in self-disclosure each year when their best friends demonstrated relatively high self-disclosure. For girls in this sample, when providing support, they demonstrated greater-than-expected decreases in self-disclosure each year when their best friends demonstrated relatively high self-disclosure. Adolescents whose friends disclosed highly to them also tended to express more vulnerability with romantic partners in adulthood. Post-hoc analyses investigate the role of friendship stability and gender as potential moderators of self-disclosure development. The best friendship, a key source of emotional support, serves as a foundational context for learning appropriate use of vulnerable self-disclosure when seeking and providing emotional support, which persists across time and relationships.

Unravelling the Longitudinal Relations Between Developmental Milestones, General Psychopathology, and Personality Functioning in a Youth Clinical Sample

Personality functioning, general psychopathology, and developmental milestones achievement are critical domains in the field of young people's mental health; however, no prior research has considered these variables jointly or examined the temporal dynamics between them. To fill these gaps, the present study aimed to investigate the longitudinal associations between the above constructs in a clinical sample of Dutch youth. 525 outpatients (72.5% women; age range: 12-26 years, M = 18.8 ± 2.83) diagnosed with different psychological difficulties were recruited from specialized mental health care services in The Netherlands. They completed self-report measures assessing personality functioning, psychopathological symptoms, and the achievement of youth-specific developmental milestones. Data were collected on three occasions within a year and modelled using a Cross-Lagged Panel Model approach. The levels of personality dysfunction, general psychopathology, and developmental milestones achievement were found to fluctuate from one wave to the other. Personality dysfunction and general psychopathology were positively interrelated at each time point, while both constructs were negatively associated with developmental milestones achievement. Importantly, difficulties achieving developmental milestones predicted a worsening in personality functioning 6 months later. This result would suggest that the achievement of developmental milestones precedes personality functioning, supporting the importance of interventions promoting age-adequate functioning in youth.

Testing the temporal precedence of family functioning and child psychopathology in the LONGSCAN sample

Family functioning may serve as protective or risk factors in the development of youth psychopathology. However, few studies have examined the potentially reciprocal relation between child psychopathology and family functioning. To fill this gap in the literature, this study tested for time-ordered associations between measures of family functioning (e.g., cohesion, conflict, and emotional expressiveness) and child psychopathology (e.g., total behavior problems, externalizing, and internalizing problems) using data from the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN; N = 1143, 52.3% female, Nwaves = 5). We used a random-intercept cross-lagged panel model to identify whether child psychopathology preceded and predicted family functioning, the reverse, or both processes occurred simultaneously. At the between-person level, families who tended to have more cohesion, who lacked conflict, and who expressed their emotions had lower levels of child psychopathology. At the within-person level in childhood, we found minimal evidence for time-ordered associations. In adolescence, however, a clear pattern whereby early psychopathology consistently predicted subsequent family functioning emerged, and the reverse direction was rarely found. Results indicate a complex dynamic relation between the family unit and child that have important implications for developmental models that contextualize risk and resilience within the family unit.

A social-development model of the evolution of depressive symptoms from age 13 to 30

This 17-year prospective study applied a social-development lens to the challenge of identifying long-term predictors of adult depressive symptoms. A diverse community sample of 171 individuals was repeatedly assessed from age 13 to age 30 using self-, parent-, and peer-report methods. As hypothesized, competence in establishing close friendships beginning in adolescence had a substantial long-term predictive relation to adult depressive symptoms at ages 27-30, even after accounting for prior depressive, anxiety, and externalizing symptoms. Intervening relationship difficulties at ages 23-26 were identified as part of pathways to depressive symptoms in the late twenties. Somewhat distinct paths by gender were also identified, but in all cases were consistent with an overall role of relationship difficulties in predicting long-term depressive symptoms. Implications both for early identification of risk as well as for potential preventive interventions are discussed.

Children's mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: a population-based cohort study in the United States

PURPOSE

Examine children's mental health symptoms, including changes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS

The COVID Experiences Surveys, designed to be representative of the U.S. household population, were administered online to parents of children aged 5-12 years (wave 1 (W1), October-November 2020, n = 1561; wave 2 (W2), March-May 2021, n = 1287). We modeled changes in children's symptoms of anxiety, depression, and psychological stress and examined associations between demographic characteristics, COVID-19 related experiences, and protective factors with symptoms across both waves using generalized estimating equations.

RESULTS

Based on parent-report, children's symptoms of anxiety and depression decreased from W1 to W2 (Δ t-score anxiety = -1.8 [95% confidence intervals (CI): -2.5, -1.0]; Δ t-score depression = -1.0 [CI: -1.7, -0.3]). Psychological stress remained consistent. Across waves, older children and children with an emotional, mental, developmental, behavioral, physical, or medical condition were more likely to have specific poor mental health symptoms. Poor mental health symptoms were more likely among children with several contextual stressors (e.g., economic stress, parental emotional strain) and less likely among children with protective factors (e.g., daily routines, neighborhood cohesion).

CONCLUSIONS

Establishing programs that support mental health, improving access to mental health services, and fostering collaborations to advance children's mental health is important.

Adolescent caregiving success as a predictor of social functioning from ages 13 to 33

Adolescent success providing satisfying support in response to a close friend's call in a caregiving task was examined as a potentially fundamental developmental competence likely to predict future social functioning, adult caregiving security, and physical health. Adolescents (86 males, 98 females; 58% White, 29% African American, 8% mixed race/ethnicity, 5% other) were followed from ages 13 to 33 (1998-2021) using multiple methods and reporters. Early caregiving success was found to predict greater self- and partner-reported caregiving security, lower negativity in adult relationships, and higher adult vagal tone. Results are interpreted as advancing our understanding beyond simply recognizing that adolescent friendships have long-term import, to now identifying specific capacities within friendships that are linked to longer-term outcomes.

A prospective study of the relative contribution of adolescent peer support quantity and quality to depressive symptoms

BACKGROUND

During adolescence, peer support has an increasingly important role in identity formation and well-being. Prior research has identified that lack of social support from peers in adolescence is a potent risk factor for depression. Two ways that social support has been operationalized is by the number of one's friends (i.e., 'quantity') and perception of one's network (i.e., 'quality'). Typically, these aspects of peer support are assessed separately.

METHODS

Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (N = 3,857), this study sought to test whether (1) adolescent depression relates to having fewer friends versus lower quality friendships, (2) these aspects of adolescent peer support prospectively predict depression in adulthood, (3) gender moderates the effects of peer support on depression, and (4) these aspects of peer support buffer the effects of stressful life events on depression.

RESULTS

Peer support quality uniquely predicted depression in adolescence and adulthood among both males and females. The effect of peer support quality on depressive symptoms, however, was greater for females than males. By contrast, peer support quantity did not uniquely predict depression for males or females.

CONCLUSIONS

Qualitative aspects of adolescent peer support uniquely contribute to mental health not only in adolescence, but in adulthood as well. Potential processes through which peer support relates to depression are discussed, as well as implications for treatment.

Pathways from peers to mental health: Adolescent networks, role attainment, and adult depressive symptoms

Both adolescent peer networks and adult role attainment affect mental health in adulthood. However, whether adult roles mediate associations between adolescent networks and adult mental health is unclear. Using path analysis with survey data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (N = 8543) in the United States, we examine the direct impact of adolescent (grades 7-12) popularity (received ties) and sociality (sent ties) among school peers on adult (ages 33-43) depressive symptoms, and we assess mediation pathways through four key adult roles: marriage, employment, education, and residential independence. We then examine whether pathways differ across men and women. Results indicate that adolescent popularity, or how others view an adolescent's position in the peer network, benefits adult mental health through the attainment of marriage, employment, and education. Residential independence is a significant mediator for popularity in models for men. Sociality, or how an adolescent views their own position in the peer network, relates to adult depressive symptoms through the attainment of a college degree for women and marriage for men. Sociality also directly predicts lower depressive levels, independent of adult role attainment, in models for women. Overall, results indicate gendered pathways for how adolescent networks relate to mental health decades later through adult roles.

Profiles of Emotional Separation and Parental Trust from Adolescence to Emerging Adulthood: Age Differences and Associations with Identity and Life Satisfaction

Youth become psychologically independent by emotionally separating from their parents and simultaneously developing a sense of trust in them. While these relational components have been addressed separately, studies focusing on the change in dynamics of these components are lacking. This study examined profiles of parent-youth relationship quality based on emotional separation and parental trust, age differences in the prevalence of these profiles, and age differences in the associations between the profiles, identity, and life satisfaction. Participants included 14,428 youth living in Japan from five age groups (44.8% girls/women; M_age = 20.6 years; range = 12-25 years). Six profiles were identified: healthy-independent, unhealthy-independent, balanced, moderate/ambivalent, connected, and distant. The connected profile was predominant among early adolescents, while the healthy-independent profile was predominant among late adolescents and early and middle emerging adults. Among all age groups, identity synthesis was the highest in the healthy-independent profile, and life satisfaction was the highest and identity confusion was the lowest in the healthy-independent and connected profiles. These findings indicate that young people navigate the process of becoming independent from their parents by balancing emotional separation and parental trust, and this balance relates to identity development and life satisfaction.

Parent and Romantic Partner Behaviors during Adolescence as Predictors of Young Adult Positive Personality, Relational Competence, and Functional Independence

Experiences with parents and romantic partners during adolescence are theorized to have long-term effects on youth development. However, little research has empirically examined the relative contributions of experiences in each type of relationship at different points during adolescence to positive development in young adulthood. The goal of the present study was to predict relative changes in youth positive personality characteristics, relational competence, and functional independence during young adulthood from specific behaviors experienced from parents and romantic partners during early and late adolescence. A diverse community sample of 147 individuals (59 males, 88 females) from the southeastern United States was repeatedly assessed across a 14-year period from age 13 to age 27. As hypothesized, parental acceptance and successful parental positive influence behavior toward adolescents at age 13 predicted relative increases in positive personality traits (e.g., agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability) between ages 23 and 27. These same parental behaviors measured at age 18 were less robust predictors of key outcomes relative to similar qualities of romantic relationships. Instead, romantic behaviors of toleration and appreciation at age 18 predicted relative increases in functional independence and relational competence between ages 23 and 27 (e.g., attachment closeness, reliable alliance, nurturance, and functional independence). Results suggest that parents' successful efforts to positively influence and accept their children during early adolescence may lay a foundation for future positive personality growth, and that similar positive behaviors experienced in late adolescent romantic relationships may help prepare youth to develop broader supportive social relationships and independence skills in young adulthood.