Longitudinal data provides a unique opportunity to address the critical question of whether cross-sectional effects change over time. Our results indicate that the initial differences in anxious-depressed symptoms associated with early caregiving and adult romantic quality persist over the nine-year period examined here, even after controlling for relationship stability, marriage and child birth, and additional factors. These stability findings, although not entirely anticipated, are a powerful demonstration that configurations of early and later close interpersonal experiences predict enduring patterns of adaptation.
