The role of family complexity in mental and physical health in mid-adulthood

Publication type

Journal Article

Series Number

Authors

Publication date

September 17, 2025

Summary:

Objective:

This study examines the association between accumulated family complexity and mental and physical health in mid-adulthood, with a focus on gender differences.

Background:

While research on family and health often centers on the health effects of specific family transitions, the life course health development model emphasizes the cumulative influence of life experiences on health. Complex family trajectories, particularly those including episodes of singlehood or single parenthood, may have lasting implications for mental and physical health.

Method:

Using data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study, differently weighted sequence complexity indices were applied to capture the number and the unpredictability of transitions in partnership and parenthood trajectories from ages 18 to 55 and health at age 55 (survey years 2009–2022) among men (N = 2638) and women (N = 3407).

Results:

Accumulated family complexity is negatively associated with both women's and men's mental and physical health, but findings differ based on the specification of family complexity. Women's physical health appears to be particularly affected by the accumulation of family complexity following a separation involving children, whereas men's mental and physical health seem to be more affected by accumulated family complexity after any separation.

Conclusion:

By uncovering substantial gender differences in patterns of associations between accumulated family complexity and health, this study highlights the importance of accounting for gender-specific dynamics in studies of family complexity. Our finding that long-term health disadvantages are associated with family complexity suggests that entire life course trajectories should be considered and quantified when examining long-term health outcomes.

Published in

Journal of Marriage and Family

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.70019

ISSN

00222445

Subjects

Notes

Online Early

Open Access

© 2025 The Author(s). Journal of Marriage and Family published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of National Council on Family Relations.

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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