“The implications of the study’s findings are far-reaching… First, there’s a message to educators that social and emotional learning can be just as important as cognitive skills.”

“The new study, a comprehensive 20-year examination of 800 children from kindergarten through their mid-20s published Thursday in the American Journal of Public Health, found a link between a child’s social skills in kindergarten and how well they were doing in early adulthood.”

“Study: Behavior in kindergarten linked to adult success,” by Kelly Wallace, CNN, July 16, 2015

*     *     *

“A couple of interesting things here, though – it’s amazing that something that you’re measuring in kindergarten can predict anything at all 15 to 20 years down the road.

“But the second thing that’s important is that not all social skills might matter to the same extent. Teachers also rated these kindergarten students on their aggressiveness, but researchers find that these ratings do not predict whether kids will get in trouble with the police 15 to 20 years later. Again, it’s the pro-social skills – the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes – this is what shapes the likelihood that you’ll stay out of trouble later on.”

Shankar Vedantam, NPR’s social science correspondent, speaking in “Nice Kids Finish First: Study Finds Social Skills Can Predict Future Success,” July 16, 2015