We examine the prediction of individuals' educational and occupational success at age 48 from contextual and personal variables assessed during their middle childhood and late adolescence. We focus particularly on the predictive role of the parents' educational level during middle childhood, controlling for other indices of socioeconomic status and children's IQ, and the mediating roles of negative family interactions, childhood behavior, and late adolescent aspirations. Data come from the Columbia County Longitudinal Study, which began in 1960 when all 856 third graders in a semirural county in New York State were interviewed along with their parents; participants were reinterviewed at ages 19, 30, and 48 (Eron et al., 1971; Huesmann et al., 2002). Parents' educational level when the child was 8 years old significantly predicted educational and occupational success for the child 40 years later. Structural models showed that parental educational level had no direct effects on child educational level or occupational prestige at age 48 but had significant indirect effects that were independent of the other predictor variables' effects. These indirect effects were mediated through age 19 educational aspirations and age 19 educational level. These results provide strong support for the unique predictive role of parental education on adult outcomes 40 years later and underscore the developmental importance of mediators of parent education effects such as late adolescent achievement and achievement-related aspirations.

Objective To estimate the influence of early childhood television exposure on fourth-grade academic, psychosocial, and lifestyle characteristics. Design Prospective longitudinal study. Setting Institut de la Statistique du Québec, Québec, Canada. Participants A total of 1314 (of 2120) children. Main Exposure Parent-reported data on weekly hours of television exposure at 29 and 53 months of age. We conducted a series of ordinary least-squares regressions in which children's academic, psychosocial, and lifestyle characteristics are linearly regressed on early and preschool television exposure. Outcome Measures Parent and teacher reports of academic, psychosocial, and health behaviors and body mass index measurements (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) at 10 years of age. Results Adjusting for preexisting individual and family factors, every additional hour of television exposure at 29 months corresponded to 7% and 6% unit decreases in classroom engagement (95% confidence interval [CI], −0.02 to −0.004) and math achievement (95% CI, −0.03 to 0.01), respectively; 10% unit increases in victimization by classmates (95% CI, 0.01 to 0.05); 13% unit decreases in time spent doing weekend physical activity (95% CI, 0.81 to 2.25); 9% unit decreases in activities involving physical effort (95% CI, −0.04 to 0.00); higher consumption scores for soft drinks and snacks by 9% and 10% (95% CI, 0.00 to 0.04 and 95% CI, 0.00 to 0.02), respectively; and 5% unit increases in body mass index (95% CI, 0.01 to 0.05). Preschool increments in exposure also made a unique contribution to developmental risk. Conclusions The long-term risks associated with higher levels of early exposure may chart developmental pathways toward unhealthy dispositions in adolescence. A population-level understanding of such risks remains essential for promoting child development.