The study<\/a>, published in the American Journal of Public Health, showed that when children learn to interact effectively with their peers and control their emotions, it can have an enormous impact on how their adult lives take shape. And according to the research, kids should be spending more time on these skills in school<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kindergarten teachers evaluated the kids with a portion of something called the Social Competence Scale<\/a> by rating statements like \u201cThe child is good at understanding others\u2019 feelings\u201d on a handy \u201cNot at all\/A little\/Moderately well\/Well\/Very well\u201d scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The research team used these responses to give each kid a \u201csocial competency score,\u201d which they kept stored away in a file somewhere for 19 years, or until each kid was 25. At that point, they gathered some basic information about the now-grown-ups and did some fancy statistical work to see whether their early social skills held any predictive value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are 3 crucial findings they uncovered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Traditional thinking says that if a kid gets good grades and test scores, he or she must be really smart, right? After all, there is a proven correlation<\/a> between having a better GPA in high school and making more money later in life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But what that test score doesn\u2019t tell you is how many times a kid worked with a study partner to crack a tough problem, or went to the teacher for extra help, or resisted the urge to watch TV instead of preparing for a test. In other words, the raw grade can\u2019t measure a kid\u2019s determination, motivation, clever problem-solving skills, and ability to cooperate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The researchers behind this project wrote, \u201cSuccess in school involves both social-emotional and cognitive skills, because social interactions, attention, and self-control affect readiness for learning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s a fancy way of saying that while some kids may just be flat-out brilliant, most of them need more than just smarts to succeed. Maybe it wouldn\u2019t hurt to spend a little more time in school teaching kids about the social half of the equation<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We know we need to look beyond GPA and state-mandated testing to figure out which kids are on the right path. That\u2019s why the researchers zeroed in so heavily on that social competency score.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What they found probably isn\u2019t too surprising: Kids who related well to their peers, handled their emotions better, and were good at resolving problems went on to have more successful lives. What\u2019s surprising is just how strong the correlation was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An increase of a single point in social competency score showed a child would be 54% more likely to earn a high school diploma, twice as likely to graduate with a college degree, and 46% more likely to have a stable, full-time job at age 25. The kids who were always stealing toys, breaking things, and having meltdowns? More likely to have run-ins with the law and substance abuse problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The study couldn\u2019t say for sure that strong or poor social skills directly cause any of these things. But we can<\/em> say for sure that eating too much glue during arts and crafts definitely doesn\u2019t help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The researchers called some of these pro-social behaviors, like sharing and cooperating, \u201cmalleable\u201d or changeable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s face it: Some kids are just never going to be rocket scientists. Turns out there are physical differences in our brains that make learning easier for some people than others.<\/a> But settling disputes with peers? That\u2019s something kids (and adults) can always continue to improve on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And guess what? For a lot of kids, these behaviors come from their parents. The more you\u2019re able to demonstrate positive social traits like warmth and empathy, the better off your kids will be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So can we all agree to stop yelling at people when they take the parking spot we wanted?<\/p>\n\n\n\n This study has some limitations, which its researchers readily admit. While they did their best to control for as many environmental factors as possible, it ultimately leans pretty heavily on subjective measures like whether a teacher thought a kid was just \u201cgood\u201d or \u201cvery good\u201d at a given trait.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, another study released in 2022<\/a> showed that kids with poor sleep quality and \u201cexcessive daytime sleepiness\u201d (Hey, I think I might have that!) demonstrated worse prosocial behavior. So what goes on at home clearly has a big impact that\u2019s tough for teachers and researchers to measure in the classroom. Another study published in 2025<\/a> found \u201cmodest associations\u201d between school readiness skills, which included language, academic, executive functioning, and social-emotional skills, to adult attainment and occupational status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Still, the 19-year study paints a pretty clear picture: Pro-social behavior matters, even at a young age. And because it can be learned, it\u2019s a great \u201ctarget for prevention or intervention efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"children,](\"https:\/\/www.upworthy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/origin_ae882a.jpg?w=1200&quality=80\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhat 19 years of research found<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. Grades and test scores matter, but maybe not for the reasons we thought.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
2. Skills such as sharing and cooperating pay off later in life.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
![\"children,](\"https:\/\/www.upworthy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/origin_1e7c53.jpg?w=1200&quality=80\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n3. Social behaviors can be learned and unlearned, meaning it\u2019s never too late to change.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
What the study does and doesn\u2019t prove<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What this means for schools right now<\/h2>\n\n\n\n