Discussion Paper No. 908-90 The Relation of Educational Attainment to Childhood Events and Circumstances

Any opinions and conclusions expressed here are solely those of the authors and should not be construed as representing the opinions or policy of the sponsoring institutions. The authors wish to thank participants in the Institute for Research on Poverty workshop for their helpful comments. The Institute's Discussion Paper series is designed to describe and to elicit comments on work in progress. Papers in the series should be considered working drafts. The relationship between high school graduation and a number of variables, including personal characteristics, economic factors, stress factors, and the timing of events, is examined. A longitudinal sample of approximately 1300 individuals provides evidence that completion of high school is positively associated with being nonwhite and female, growing up in a family having a religious affiliation, and growing u