http://www.pnas.org/content/108/7/2693.short
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.
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