Self Control!!

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

Terrie E. Moffitta,b, Louise Arseneaultb, Daniel Belskya, Nigel Dicksonc, Robert J. Hancoxc, HonaLee Harringtona, Renate Houtsa, Richie Poultonc, Brent W. Robertsd, Stephen Rossa, Malcolm R. Searse,f, W. Murray Thomsong, and Avshalom Caspia,b,1

+ Author Affiliations
aDepartments of Psychology and Neuroscience and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy, Duke University, Durham, NC 27705;
bSocial, Genetic, and Developmental Psychiatry Research Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, United Kingdom;
cDunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Research Unit, Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, School of Medicine, and
gDepartment of Oral Sciences and Orthodontics, School of Dentistry, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand;
dDepartment of Psychology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL 61820;
eDepartment of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, L8S4L8 Canada; and
fFirestone Institute for Respiratory Health, Hamilton, ON, Canada L8N 4A6

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.

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2011 108 (7) 2639-2640