Adult employment probabilities of socially maladjusted children

• Social maladjustment during childhood decreases adult employment probabilities.
• Socially maladjusted individuals experience stronger employment state dependence.
• Males are more disadvantaged than females for high levels of social maladjustment.
• Improving behaviors during adolescence reduces the negative impact of social maladjustment.
• Employment policies would be effective to employ socially maladjusted individuals.

This study investigates the relationship between childhood social maladjustment and adult employment probabilities. Using data from the British National Child Development Study, we find that being socially maladjusted at age 11 has a negative effect on adult employment probabilities. Accounting for state dependence nearly doubles the negative effect of social maladjustment. Moreover, socially maladjusted individuals exhibit stronger state dependence than do socially adjusted individuals, suggesting that the former experience greater difficulties in finding a job when not employed. This finding is possibly due to the persistence of antisocial behavior and/or subsequent disadvantages associated with childhood social maladjustment. We also find that females are more penalized than males for low-middle levels of social maladjustment, while males suffer more in cases of higher levels. In addition, childhood social maladjustment is less detrimental to adult employment probabilities if cohort-members exhibit reduced antisocial behavioral aspects during adolescence. The estimation results are robust to exogeneity tests and the introduction of additional controls testing the role of school/living environment. Our findings suggest that policies aimed at improving social skills during adolescence and favoring insertion in the labor market may be effective in both improving employment prospects and achieving social inclusion of affected individuals.