The Fruits of Their Labors: A Longitudinal Exploration of Parent Personality and Adjustment in Their Adult Children Marjorie Solomon University of California, Berkeley ABSTRACT This longitudinal study of several aspects of parenting examines how children “turn out” as adults. Ratings of adjustment (educational and occupational attainment as well as social and emotional maturity) in young adult children (aged 25–37) were made on the basis of information from 64 mothers who were participants in a longitudinal study of women’s lives. As hypothesized, mothers who were demanding yet responsive, sensitive, and psychologically mature at ages 27 and 43 had children with higher overall adult adjustment scores. Other factors correlated with adjustment included the mother’s long-term commitment to being a wife and mother, and the cohesiveness of the home environment. In their 50s, characteristics of parents associated with adult child adjustment were different for men and women (competence in women and forcefulness and individuality in men). Divorce was not a negative factor, and mothers’ paid work (after age 27) was positive at a trend level. Parenting is the most important job that many adults undertake in a lifetime, yet it is rare to find longitudinal studies of parenting that examine how children turn out as adults (see Block, 1971; Franz, McClel- land, & Weinberger, 1991; and Kagan & Moss, 1962, for notable excep- tions). This study seeks to contribute to this important research area. It explores how personality and other characteristics of parents in early and middle adulthood, as well as the quality and duration of their marital relationships over time, are related to adjustment in adult children. Journal of Personality 68:2, April 2000. Copyright © 2000 by Blackwell Publishers, 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA, and 108 Cowley Road, Oxford, OX4 1JF, UK.