Intensity in adolescent romantic relationships was examined as a long-term predictor of higher adult blood pressure in a community sample followed from age 17 to 31 years. Romantic intensity in adolescence – measured via the amount of time spent alone with a partner and the duration of the relationship – was predicted by parents’ psychologically controlling behavior and was in turn found to predict higher resting adult systolic and diastolic blood pressure even after accounting for relevant covariates. The prediction to adult blood pressure was partially mediated via conflict in nonromantic adult friendships and intensity in adult romantic relationships. Even after accounting for these mediators, however, a direct path from adolescent romantic intensity to higher adult blood pressure remained. Neither family income in adolescence nor trait measures of personality assessed in adulthood accounted for these findings. The results of this study are interpreted both as providing further support for the view that adolescent social relationship qualities have substantial long-term implications for adult health, as well as suggesting a potential physiological mechanism by which adolescent relationships may be linked to adult health outcomes.

在 17 至 31 岁的社区样本中，青少年浪漫关系的强度被检查为成人血压较高的长期预测因子。青春期的浪漫强度——通过与伴侣单独相处的时间和关系的持续时间来衡量——可以通过父母的心理控制行为来预测，并且反过来被发现可以预测更高的成人静息收缩压和舒张压，即使考虑到相关的协变量。对成人血压的预测部分是通过非浪漫成人友谊中的冲突和成人浪漫关系中的强度来调节的。然而，即使在考虑了这些中介因素之后，从青少年浪漫强度到更高成人血压的直接路径仍然存在。青春期的家庭收入和成年期评估的人格特质测量都不能解释这些发现。这项研究的结果被解释为进一步支持青少年社会关系质量对成人健康具有实质性长期影响的观点，以及暗示青少年关系可能与成人健康结果相关的潜在生理机制。