A boy cries in the school playground. A new study from the UK has found that some behaviors considered problematic in childhood may lead to higher wages later in life.
Juan Monino | Electronic+ | Getty Images
School bullies may end up earning higher salaries, a new study suggests, upending the conventional wisdom that they will get their comeuppance later in life.
Research publish The British Institute for Social and Economic Research found earlier this month that children who exhibit certain problem behaviors at school, including losing their tempers, teasing or bullying, earn more in their 40s.
Children with “behavior problems” in school also reported higher job satisfaction.
At the same time, children who have difficulty concentrating and forming relationships with classmates end up performing worse in the labor market and are less satisfied with their jobs and life.
Emotional problems such as failure to complete tasks and anxiety are also linked to poorer outcomes in the job market.
The study used data from the 1970 British Cohort Study to compare a wide range of behaviors and skills reported by teachers aged 10 and 16, as well as educational attainment, income, hours worked and occupation by those aged 46 and under.
Research has found that social and emotional skills in school-age children can help predict aspects of later life. The study took into account socioeconomic details such as family income, parental employment and educational status.
The authors say the results show the need to rethink how schools discipline children.
“Behaviors commonly considered aggressive may be adaptive responses to a competitive environment,” they said.
“Rather than taking a punitive approach, more focus could be placed on understanding the causes of disruptive behavior, and teachers could be trained to identify strategies to help children channel these tendencies in ways that are more appropriate for the classroom.”
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