In terms of zero-order correlations, early caregiving was not significantly related to anxious-depressed symptoms at any age, which is consistent with prior work indicating that early caregiving experiences are likely to have indirect, rather than direct, effects on later internalizing symptoms (Franz et al., 1991; Overbeek et al., 2007; for an exception see Moffitt et al., 2007). Also consistent with past research from the clinical marital literature (Brock & Lawrence, 2011; Proulx et al., 2007; Whisman, 2001), young adult romantic quality was inversely related to anxious-depressed symptoms at ages 23 and 32. Young adult romantic quality and age 26 anxious-depressed symptoms were also negatively related, but this effect was not statistically significant.
