A recently released study by British researchers reached a fairly shocking conclusion: teens with attitude problems often became adults with attitude problems. Stop the presses! This is truly groundbreaking news!

I’m only half-joking. The study, which is published in the British Medical Journal is one of the most extensive of its kind, following the outcomes of more than 3,500 people over a 40-year period, people initially surveyed when they were just 13 years old.

Researchers had teachers evaluate their students behavior at age 13 and 15 and then tracked them over the next four decades. They found that the kids with even moderate behavioral issues (restlessness, lying, disobedience) were more likely to drop out of school, become a teenage parent, abuse alcohol, and face more difficulties in life than their peers.

“This research suggests that adolescent conduct problems are indicative of more serious problems in creating and maintaining positive social relationships and this has a long-term effect on the young adults ability to maintain good mental health, stable employment, and a happy family life,” Ian Colman, the study’s lead author and an assistant professor at the University of Alberta’s School of Public Health told CNN.

Similar research has reached similar conclusions, which is not to say that every teenager with an attitude problem is destined to have a tough life ahead of them. But most experts agree that unless certain behaviors are corrected through early interventions and other programs, the likelihood that troubled teens will become troubled adults are high.

Naomi Dillon, Senior Editor