In the second edition, Lareau revisits the subjects from the original study a decade later in order to examine the impact of social class on the transition to adulthood.

She covers the subjects' awareness of their social class, high school experiences and the effect of organized activities as they went through their adolescent years.

After her initial fieldwork was completed, Lareau returned to the families featured in her book to examine the pathways each of their lives had followed and to determine if her original research conclusions that class influences educational and work outcomes held true.

The majority of the poorer, working class participants had either dropped out of high school or not attended post-secondary institutions, or if they had, had not completed their courses.

Lareau found her earlier conclusions remained true: social class and parenting approaches significantly impacted educational and work outcomes.

In response to the second edition of the book, critics continue to comment on the limitations of this study given its small sample size, while applying broad theoretical conclusions to North American society.