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Background and objectives: Prior research and theories are predicated on the assumption thatchildhood education has a potentially significant effect on long-term adult mental health andstatus achievement, but there is little empirical data to support this view. Using a longitudinalbirth cohort from birth to age 30, we investigated the association between childhood educa-tional attainment and adult status achievement, including mental health in an American innercity population.Methods: 1820 infants (born between 1960 and 1965) were followed prospectively as part of theCollaborative Perinatal Project (CPP) and the Johns Hopkins Pathways to Adulthood Study, withmultiple observations of development and an extensive adult interview. Childhood intelligenceand educational ability were measured using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC)and the Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT) at age 7. Adult mental health was measured withthe General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) when the infants reached age 27---33. During the adultfollow up interview, status achievement data was collected including employment, personalincome, and education.Results: There were significantly negative associations between age 7 WRAT scores and allthe issues regarding adult mental health, positive associations between age 7 WRAT scoresand years of school completed, personal income, and employment status. There were positiveassociations between childhood IQ and all status achievement variables, but no associationrecorded between childhood IQ and adult mental health.
Conclusions: Childhood education was significantly associated with adult mental health andstatus achievement more than 25 years later. Low scores of WRAT significantly predict pooroutcomes as an adult, both in terms of mental health and status achievement. The study findingshave potentially strong implications for the enactment of policy changes around the world.© 2018 Asociaci´on Universitaria de Zaragoza para el Progreso de la Psiquiatr´ıa y la Salud Mental.Published by Elsevier Espa˜na, S.L.U. All rights reserved
