For example, stress is more strongly associated with alcohol consumption in early adulthood and with accelerated weight gain in middle-aged adults, as stress exacerbates health habits that are most salient at different ages (Umberson et al. 2008). For example, stress may accelerate the general tendency to gain more weight in middle age and to experiment with smoking and alcohol in adolescence. Thus, stress may trigger behavioral vulnerabilities, with different expressions, across the life course. This process should be viewed cumulatively: People who experienced higher levels of childhood family stress are more likely to experience high levels of stress in adulthood, and childhood family stress is associated with more unhealthy behavior in adulthood (Umberson et al. 2008).
