A longitudinal study of children in North Carolina found that better parental supervision of children in early adolescence was associated with higher household income of the child at age 35. Children of parents who did not engage in adequate supervision earned approximately $14,000 less per year compared to those who did. The study was published in PLOS One.
It is well known that children’s opportunities in adulthood are associated with the characteristics of their family of origin. Researchers consider the socioeconomic status of a family as one of the most important determinants of a child’s future prospects.
Socioeconomic status refers to where a person or family stands in society based on factors like how much money they make, their education, what job they have, and how respected they are. People with higher socioeconomic status usually earn more money, have better education and job opportunities, and do jobs that are considered more important. On the other hand, people with lower socioeconomic status often struggle with money, don’t have as much education or good opportunities for their kids, and do jobs that don’t come with many benefits.
However, children’s prospects are not solely determined by the socioeconomic status of the child’s family. Children with higher cognitive capacities (who are good at thinking and solving problems) and who don’t behave badly tend to do better economically as they grow up. And how parents raise their kids also matters. Research has shown that spending time with parents, having good conversations with them, and parents guiding their kids towards successful choices can greatly improve a child’s economic outcomes later in life.
Study author Ellen W. McGinnis and her colleagues wanted to know whether parental supervision and education contribute to improved economic prospects of children after controlling for the socioeconomic status of the family. They note that during middle and high school, kids often lose interest in school and other important things. Because of this, better parental supervision during that period of childhood has been linked to a decreased risk of delinquency, better academic achievements, and other desirable outcomes.
This study analyzed data from the Great Smoky Mountain study, a longitudinal study of children in 11 predominantly rural counties of North Carolina. Participants were three groups of children who were aged 9, 11, and 13 at the start of the study. A total of 1,420 children participated. They completed assessments each year until they reached the age of 16. This was between 1993 and 2000. Children were assessed again when they reached their 30s, between 2018 and 2021.
When the kids were growing up, the researchers collected data about their families, like if they had one parent or two, how much money the family made, and how much education the parents had. They also looked at how well parents supervised their kids. If parents didn’t know what their kids were doing, didn’t set rules, or didn’t step in when kids were doing bad things, that was considered inadequate supervision. The researchers also examined how many signs of behavior problems the kids showed (such as symptoms of Oppositional Defiant Disorder and of Conduct Disorder).
When these children became adults and reached their 30s, the researchers collected data on their household income and education level.
Here’s what the researchers found: Back when the study began, 25% of parents were single, about 30% had gone to college, and the family’s income was about $56,491 in today’s money. Most parents provided adequate supervision and the average number of behavioral symptoms was low. By the time these kids grew up to be adults in 2021, their average income was $60,250.
Participants who came from families with higher household incomes tended to have higher household incomes themselves. Children of more educated parents also tended to have higher income as adults. For roughly every 2 years of parental post-high education, their adult kids earned around $4,464 more each year. And for every $5,000 more parents made, their kids earned about $4,199 more.
Children who had adequate parental supervision had higher income as adults. For every point decrease in the adequacy of parental supervision, there was a decrease of $7,087 of yearly household income when the child grew up. Children who had fewer behavioral symptoms also earned more as adults. For each behavioral symptom during adolescence, household income in adulthood decreased by $4,114. Statistical tests suggested that educational attainment might be a mediator of the link between parental supervision in adolescence and income in adulthood.
“Having adequate parental supervision during adolescence in the late 1990s resulted in a lifetime income difference of ~$219,870 (confidence interval: $172,290 to $261,180) between ages 35–65 (without pay increases). This lifetime income difference is equivalent to ~1–2 extra years of parent education, or an additional $10,000 in annual parental household income. Our results may suggest positive cascade effects of parental supervision beyond adolescence and on income two decades later, subsequently influencing the child’s social mobility,” the study authors concluded.
The study sheds light on the relationship between family experiences in childhood and economic attainment later in life. However, it also has limitations that need to be taken into account. Notably, all data come from self-reports. Additionally, the assessment of parental supervision was based on a single question. These might have introduced bias that could have affected the results.
The paper “Parental supervision positively impacts children’s economic prospects two decades later: A prospective longitudinal study” was authored by Ellen W. McGinnis, Julia Halvorson-PhelanI, Lilly Shanahan, Tong GuangyuI, and William Copeland.