A new study from the Josephson Institute of Ethics suggests a strong connection between dishonest teens and dishonest adults. If you make a habit of lying or cheating in your high school years, the study says, then most likely you’re going to be one of those who cheats on his taxes or lies to their spouse.

Isn’t that what dear old Mom always said would happen?

Now, I know we’ve all told a wee fib or two in our lifetimes.  But this study is speaking of people who lie on a much more consistent basis. I’ve known a handful of people in my life who established an unhealthy habit of lying when they were kids, and then had an extremely hard time trying to break the pattern later. In fact, two of those falsehood-favoring few would readily lie at any point of duress even if they knew the truth was just around the corner. Both had an eventual face-first meeting with reality that cost them dearly and hurt others too.

Here’s the kicker. The Josephson study also found that today’s teens, 17 and younger, are five times more likely than the last generation to believe that lying and cheating are necessary to succeed. Hmmmm.