Although school attainment is a cumulative process combining mastery of both academic and behavioral skills, most studies have offered only a piecemeal view of the associations between middle-childhood capacities and subsequent schooling outcomes. Using a 20-year longitudinal data set, this study estimates the association between children's…

Previous estimates on the association between body weight and wages in the literature have been contingent on education and occupation. This paper examines the direct effect of BMI on wages and the indirect effects operating through education and occupation choice, particularly for late-teen BMI and adult wages. Using the National Longitudinal…

Approximately 6 in 10 low-income families have at least one adult who works full time throughout the year. This fact sheet uses data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 to describe the adolescent risk behaviors and the transition to adulthood for low-income youth from "high-work" families compared to low-income youth from…

The transition to adulthood could present challenges for African American youth from low-income families. This fact sheet uses data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 to explore racial differences in adolescent risk behavior, education, employment, and earnings among low income youth age 18 to 24. Differences discussed herein are…

Background: Sexual risk taking during adolescence such as failure to use contraception or condoms is associated with premature parenthood and high rates of sexually transmitted infection. The relation of childhood personality to sexual risk taking during adolescence has been largely unexplored. Methods: Using data collected from participants in…

Recent models of human capital formation represent a synthesis of the human capital approach and a life cycle view of human development that is grounded in neuroscience (Heckman 2007). This model of human development, the stability of the home and parental mental health can have notable impacts on skill development in children that may affect the…

Analysis of longitudinal data on the employment histories of 1,386 women from age 16 to 28 found that mature women's labor force attachment was influenced by the timing, amount, and volatility of their early work experience, as well as by educational attainment, race, and giving birth. (Contains 58 references.) (SV)