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A gradient of childhood self-control predicts health, wealth, and public safety

Terrie E. Moffitt, Louise Arseneault, Daniel W. Belsky, Nigel Patrick Dickson, Robert John Hancox, HonaLee Harrington, Renate Houts, Richie Poulton, Brent W. Roberts, Malcolm R. Sears, W. Murray Thomson, Avshalom Caspi

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2011 · 4,921 citationsOpen access

doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1010076108Free full text

Abstract

Policy-makers are considering large-scale programs aimed at self-control to improve citizens' health and wealth and reduce crime. Experimental and economic studies suggest such programs could reap benefits. Yet, is self-control important for the health, wealth, and public safety of the population? Following a cohort of 1,000 children from birth to the age of 32 y, we show that childhood self-control predicts physical health, substance dependence, personal finances, and criminal offending outcomes, following a gradient of self-control. Effects of children's self-control could be disentangled from their intelligence and social class as well as from mistakes they made as adolescents. In another cohort of 500 sibling-pairs, the sibling with lower self-control had poorer outcomes, despite shared family background. Interventions addressing self-control might reduce a panoply of societal costs, save taxpayers money, and promote prosperity.

Cite this paper

Moffitt, T. E., Arseneault, L., Belsky, D. W., Dickson, N. P., Hancox, R. J., Harrington, H., Houts, R., Poulton, R., Roberts, B. W., Ross, S., Sears, M. R., Thomson, W. M., & Caspi, A. (2011). A gradient of childhood self-control predicts health, wealth, and public safety. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(7), 2693–2698. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1010076108

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