While the rising prevalence of stress and psychological issues among adolescents is widely recognized, our understanding of the causes and long-term health consequences remains fragmented. Mental health research often relies on cross-sectional analyses from questionnaire-based data, posing challenges in evaluating interventions due to a lack of causal knowledge. Our approach is to gain longitudinal data identifying relevant predictive factors (positive and negative) that determine future health and well-being. The STARS project is an ongoing cohort study with a baseline examination at the age of 13 and follow-ups at ages 15, 18 and 23 (planned). Aims:
To examine whether chronic stress and low resilience to stress during adolescence, predict i) obesity, ii) elevated blood pressure, and iii) mental ill-health later in life.