Self-control in childhood promotes success in adulthood

Our behaviors during childhood influence our adult life. An international team of researchers suggests that the degree of self-control during childhood modulates success later in life. In their article published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)the group describes how self-control in children correlates with outcomes in their adult lives.

Better health for children who have better self-control

The question researchers have asked themselves is: how well children with self-control issues fare as they get older. To find out, they studied 1,037 children, born between 1972 and 1973 in New Zealand, all included in a longitudinal study when they were aged 3 to 11 years. They assessed the children’s self-control by talking to their parents, their teachers and the children themselves. Each of the children was scored on characteristics such as how impulsive or how easily they felt frustrated when working on projects and whether they followed through on those projects despite their frustration.

Decades later, researchers revisited the children then 45 years old. Each has been interrogated and tested in various ways to find out how their lives are going. The researchers found that children with a high degree of self-control, on average, aged better than those who were identified as having low self-control. They also showed fewer signs of brain aging and are healthier.

Focus on teaching to improve self-control

The researchers found that the highly self-controlled group fared better financially and socially. They also noted that IQ level and social position during childhood was not a factor, children with self-control issues, on average, were less successful in achieving standardized life goals than those who demonstrated self-control as children. The researchers suggest that a greater focus on teaching children with self-control issues to improve their control skills could lead to a better quality of life.