The Importance of Cognitive Development in Middle Childhood for Adulthood Socioeconomic Status, Mental Health, and Problem Behavior

• Published in: Child development Vol. 75; no. 5; pp. 1329 - 1339
• Main Authors: Feinstein, Leon, Bynner, John
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing 01-09-2004; Blackwell Publishers; Blackwell; Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Adult education; Adult. Elderly; Adulthood; Adults; Age; Behavior; Behavioural disorders; Behavioural problems; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Child Behavior Disorders - epidemiology; Child Development; Child, Preschool; Childhood; Childhood experiences; Children; Cognition & reasoning; Cognition Disorders - epidemiology; Cognitive Development; Cohort analysis; Cohort Studies; Crime; Crime - statistics & numerical data; Depression (Psychology); Developmental psychology; Early Parenthood; Empirical Articles; Family - psychology; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Male; Mental Disorders - epidemiology; Mental health; Mental illness; Null hypothesis; Predictor Variables; Pregnancy; Pregnancy in Adolescence - statistics & numerical data; Prospective Studies; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Risk Factors; Smoking; Social classes; Social Environment; Socioeconomic Factors; Socioeconomic Status; Human; Mood disorder; Academic achievement; Socioeconomic status; Parent; Criminality; Tobacco smoking; Depression; Cognition; Follow up study; Family environment; Adult; Cognitive development; Predictive factor; Child
• ISSN: 0009-3920; 1467-8624
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2004.00743.x

This study examined the extent to which continuities and discontinuities in cognitive performance between ages 5 and 10 predicted adult income, educational success, household worklessness, criminality, teen parenthood, smoking, and depression. Assessed were the degree of this change during middle childhood, the influence of socioeconomic status (SES) on this change, and the extent to which this change influenced adult outcomes. The analyses were conducted on 11,200 individuals from the UK Birth Cohort Study who were born in 1970 and who were resurveyed at ages 5, 10, 16, 26, and 30. Substantial discontinuities emerged during middle childhood, with strong SES influences. Changes in middle childhood strongly affected adult outcomes, often outweighing the effects of cognitive development before age 5.