Children’s behaviour in kindergarten linked to earnings in adulthood

Washington: Individuals who were inattentive at the age of six had lower earnings in their 30s after taking into consideration their IQ and family adversity, finds a recent study.
Also, males who were physically aggressive or oppositional (e.g., who refused to share materials or blamed others) had lower annual earnings in their 30s and males who were prosocial (e.g., who shared or helped) had higher earnings later.
The study published in the journal ‘JAMA Psychiatry ‘ examined the association between six prevalent childhood behaviours in kindergarten and annual earnings at ages 33 to 35 years.
“Our study suggests that kindergarten teachers can identify behaviours associated with lower earnings three decades later,” said Daniel Nagin, co-author of the study.
“Early monitoring and support for children who exhibit high levels of inattention, and for boys who exhibit high levels of aggression and opposition and low levels of prosocial behaviour could have long-term socioeconomic advantages for those individuals and society,” said Nagin.
The study used data from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Kindergarten Children, a population-based sample of predominantly White boys and girls born in 1980 or 1981 in Quebec, Canada, who were followed from January 1, 1985, to December 31, 2015.