THE PURPOSE OF THIS INVESTIGATION WAS TO FOLLOW-UP, AS SEVENTH GRADERS, TWO GROUPS OF CHILDREN WHO HAD PARTICIPATED IN A PREVENTIVE MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAM IN THE SCHOOL SETTING AND HAD BEEN EVALUATED FOR THEIR POTENTIAL FOR HAVING ADJUSTMENT PROBLEMS. THE SEVENTH GRADE EVALUATIONS WERE COMPREHENSIVE, INCLUDING A VARIETY OF SCHOOL RECORD AND ACHIEVEMENT MEASURES, PERSONALITY AND BEHAVIOR MEASURES, AND TEACHER AND PEER EVALUATIONS. THIS EVALUATION PARALLELED IN FORM AND CONTENT THE ONE USED AT THE THIRD GRADE LEVEL. CHILDREN WHO HAD BEEN IDENTIFIED IN THE PRIMARY GRADES AS HAVING MANIFEST OR INCIPIENT PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS CONTINUED, AT THE SEVENTH GRADE LEVEL, TO GIVE EVIDENCE OF INEFFECTUAL FUNCTIONING IN MANY BASIC AREAS OF PERFORMANCE. THE EARLY DETECTED DIFFICULTIES, LEFT UNTREATED, HAD THUS REMAINED ESSENTIALLY STABLE. FOLLOW UP COMPARISONS BETWEEN CHILDREN EXPOSED TO A PREVENTIVE PROGRAM AND THOSE NOT SO EXPOSED INDICATED THAT THE ORIGINAL BENEFICIAL RESULTS OF THE PROGRAM WERE NOT CLEARLY DEMONSTRABLE AT THE FOLLOW UP POINT. THE LATTER ANALYSIS, HOWEVER, WAS CLOUDED BY DIFFERENTIAL ATTRITION RATES IN THE TWO SAMPLES. LONGITUDINAL CORRELATIONAL DATA INDICATED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF STABILITY OF EVALUATION INDICES OVER A FOUR YEAR PERIOD, SUGGESTING THAT EARLY PERFORMANCE (DURING THE PRIMARY YEARS) MAY PREDICT WELL TO LATER SCHOOL FUNCTIONING. (AUTHOR)