May 07, 2014 01:50 PM EDT By Jaleesa Baulkman, UniversityHerald Reporter

Negative emotions people may have young adults may taint their love life for more than 20 years,according to a recent study.

Researchers from the University of Alberta in Canada found that early depression and anger can have a lasting grip on relationships, well into middle age.

Researcher Matthew Johnson noted that The fact that depression and anger experienced during the teen years clung to people, even through major life events such as child-rearing, marriages and careers was surprising.

"We assume or hope that high school experiences fade away and don't necessarily resonate 25 years later. The fact that symptoms of depression and expressions of anger can endure over many large events in life shows how important it is to deal with mental health early," Johnson, an assistant professor of human ecology in the Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Alberta, said in a statement.

"Sometimes, problems don't just dissipate. How you grow and change over those early years becomes crucial to future happiness," he added.

For the study, researchers surveyed 178 women and 163 men through their transition to adulthood from age 18 to 25, again on their perceived stress levels at age 32, and on the quality of their intimate relationships at age 43, to find out whether anger or depression they may have felt as young adults was still affecting those bonds.

Their findings point to the importance of recognizing that early mental health does influence couple relationships and that in turn, can have social costs later on, such as divorce and domestic violence.

Johnson said people can help themselves by "recognizing the fact that where they are in their couple relationship now is likely shaped by earlier chapters in their lives."

"It's not only your partner's current behavior or your current behavior shaping your relationship, but the story you bring with you," he said.

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