Mental wellbeing of Generation X directly linked to childhood 

Childhood disadvantage is strongly associated with poorer adult mental wellbeing for Generation X, according to a UCL study. This remained the case even if they were able to overcome their childhood circumstances to climb the social ladder by early middle age. In contrast, Baby Boomers' childhood background was not linked to their wellbeing in adulthood. Funded by CLOSER, researchers from the MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at UCL compared data on more than 18,000 British children born in 1946, 1958 and 1970. The authors examined information on family social class in childhood, educational attainment, adult social class, and wellbeing scores taken in mid-life, to discover whether childhood family background was linked to adult wellbeing. For those born in 1970, childhood disadvantage was directly linked to lower wellbeing scores later in life, irrespective of social position in adulthood. This association was not evident for the older generations.