Will Your Kid Succeed in Life? Ask Their Friends

Those looking to predict a person's chance of success should start their investigation on the playground, research shows.

A new study by researchers at Concordia University revealed that a kid's friends may be the best judge of what the child will grow up to be like.

Specifically, the study found that a child's peer evaluations of their classmates' personalities can more accurately predict adulthood personality traits – which are associated with a number of important life factors, such as health, mental health and occupational satisfaction – than self-evaluation at that age.

The study, which began in 1976, asked students in grades 1, 4 and 7 to complete peer evaluations of their classmates and rate them in terms of aggression, likeability and social withdrawal. In addition, the students conducted their own self-evaluation.