A 32-Year Longitudinal Study of Child and Adolescent Pathways to Well-Being in Adulthood

The purpose of the study was to investigate the relative importance of child and adolescent social and academic pathways to well-being in adulthood (32-years) indicated by a sense of meaning, social engagement, positive coping and prosocial values. Data were drawn from a 15 wave (32-year) longitudin...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of happiness studies 2013-06, Vol.14 (3), p.1069-1083
Main Authors: Olsson, Craig A., McGee, Rob, Nada-Raja, Shyamala, Williams, Sheila M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic Achievement
Academic Aptitude
Adolescents
Adults
Child development
Children
Coping
Economics
Happiness
Health
Hypotheses
Hypothesis testing
Language acquisition
Longitudinal studies
Mental health
New Zealand
Ontology
Personality and Social Psychology
Philosophy
Positive Psychology
Psychology
Psychopathology
Quality of Life Research
Research Paper
Social Sciences
Social skills
Values
Well Being
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Summary:The purpose of the study was to investigate the relative importance of child and adolescent social and academic pathways to well-being in adulthood (32-years) indicated by a sense of meaning, social engagement, positive coping and prosocial values. Data were drawn from a 15 wave (32-year) longitudinal study of the health and development of around 1000 New Zealanders (Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, New Zealand). Moderate continuity in social connectedness (0.38) and high continuity in academic ability (0.90) was observed across childhood and adolescence. Adolescent social connectedness was a better predictor of adult well-being than academic achievement (0.62 vs. 0.12). There was evidence of an indirect pathway from adolescent academic achievement to adult well-being through social connectedness (0.29). Indicators of well-being in adulthood appear to be better explained by social connection rather than academic competencies pathways. Implications for promoting longer term well-being during the school years are discussed.
ISSN:1389-4978
1573-7780
DOI:10.1007/s10902-012-9369-8