Regardless IQ, Parental Income, these Teen Traits Predict Prestigious Careers
March 7, 2018
Aunts who want to help their high school age
nieces and nephews have successful, higher paying careers later in life
should encourage them to be responsible students, show interest in their
studies, and focus on reading and writing. A new study show that these
traits and skills were found to be significantly
associated with prestigious careers later in life, regardless of IQ
and/or parental income.
Being a responsible student,
maintaining an interest in school and having good reading and writing
skills will not only help a teenager get good grades in high school but
could also be predictors of educational and occupational success decades
later, regardless of IQ, parental socioeconomic status or other
personality factors, according to research published by the American
Psychological Association.
“Educational researchers, political
scientists and economists are increasingly interested in the traits and
skills that parents, teachers and schools should foster in children to
enhance chances of success later in life,” said lead author Marion
Spengler, PhD, of the University of Tübingen. “Our research found that
specific behaviors in high school have long-lasting effects for one’s
later life.”
The research was published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology®.
Spengler
and her coauthors analyzed data collected by the American Institutes
for Research from 346,660 U.S. high school students in 1960, along with
follow-up data from 81,912 of those students 11 years later and 1,952 of
them 50 years later. The initial high school phase measured a variety
of student behaviors and attitudes as well as personality traits,
cognitive abilities, parental socioeconomic status and demographic
factors. The follow-up surveys measured overall educational attainment,
income and occupational prestige.
Being a responsible student,
showing an interest in school and having fewer problems with reading and
writing were all significantly associated with greater educational
attainment and finding a more prestigious job both 11 years and 50 years
after high school. These factors were also all associated with higher
income at the 50-year mark. Most effects remained even when researchers
controlled for parental socioeconomic status, cognitive ability and
other broad personality traits such as conscientiousness.
While
the findings weren’t necessarily surprising, Spengler noted how reliably
specific behaviors people showed in school were able to predict later
success.
Further analysis of the data suggested that much of the
effect could be explained by overall educational achievement, according
to Spengler.
“Student characteristics and behaviors were rewarded
in high school and led to higher educational attainment, which in turn
was related to greater occupational prestige and income later in life,”
she said. “This study highlights the possibility that certain behaviors
at crucial periods could have long-term consequences for a person’s
life.”
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American Psychological Association. "Behavior in high school predicts income and occupational success later in life." ScienceDaily. 26 February 2018.
Photo: Yastremska