Results: More than one site of pain was reported by 37% of the children. Girls were much more prone to MP than boys. A regression model revealed that prior MP, age, gender, internalizing / externalizing symptoms, dysfunctional coping, and watching TV explained 33% of the variance: The contribution of the psychosocial factors to the model was small. Separate analyses for boys and girls displayed different risk factor profiles and a higher degree of predictability in girls. Conclusion: It is assumed that the variable MP represents a dispositional, rather stable trait conceived as pain vulnerability. Most lifecourse research concentrates on how early life factors influence adult health through processes enacting within and across generations. Our paper makes the case for the inclusion of adolescence as a distinct stage in life course studies. We introduce a model to capture the most important pathways and mechanisms working over adolescence to develop adult health inequalities, and review and include relevant literature to illustrate the evidence for these pathways and mechanisms.