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Key models relating personality and health predict that personality in childhood is indicative of later health and longevity. Longevity predictions are tested using data derived from the 7-decade longitudinal study initiated by L. M. Terman in 1921(L. M. Terman & M. H. Oden, 1947. Variables representing major dimensions of personality are used in statistical survival analyses of longevity in 1,178 males and females. Conscientiousness in childhood was clearly related to survival in middle to old age. This finding (a) establishes that childhood personality is related to survival decades into the future, (b) confirms the validity of the conscientiousness dimension in conceptualizing personality, and (c) points to likely and unlikely pathways linking personality to health. Contrary to expectation, cheerfulness (optimism and sense of humor) was inversely related to longevity, suggesting a possible need for reconceptualization of its health relevance.A central question about human nature concerns the extent to which personality is meaningful over time. For example, does knowing that a child is highly sociable tell us something important about that person's outcomes much later in life? Aside from the many methodological obstacles, this question is especially difficult to address because predisposing tendencies could be realized in so many different ways. However, perhaps such an effect of personality would be revealed if a significant outcome were selected, one that involved a host of converging factors.A second major question involves the nature of the relations between personality factors and physical health. For example, there is ample evidence that chronic hostility is related to cardiovascular disease (Barefoot, 1992;Matthews, 1988), at least over several years. Although there is reason to believe that personality is signifi-

Early drinkers do not necessarily mature out of a problematic lifestyle as young adults. Interventions for these high-risk youth should start early and address their other public health problems, particularly their tendency to smoke and use other illicit drugs.

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Over the past several years, there has been growing interest in identifying distinct developmental trajectories of substance use. Using data from the RAND Adolescent/Young Adult Panel Study (N = 6,527), we synthesize our prior findings on patterns of smoking, binge drinking, and marijuana use from early adolescence (age 13) to emerging adulthood (age 23). We also present new data on how these trajectory classes compare on key psychosocial and behavioral outcomes during emerging adulthood. For each type of substance use, we found two periods of vulnerability: early adolescence and the transition to emerging adulthood. As expected, early users were at relatively high risk for poor outcomes at age 23 compared to consistent low-level users and abstainers, even if they reduced their use during adolescence. However, youths who were not early users, but steadily increased their use over time, also tended to be at relatively high risk. Results suggest that multiple prevention approaches might be needed to successfully reach at-risk youths.