Self-controlled children who are conscientious, disciplined and have perseverance are likely to become healthier and wealthier adults, a University of Otago study shows.
The findings by Otago University's Multidisciplinary Study, found children's self-control skills predicted their health, wealth and criminal history later in life, regardless of their intelligence level or social background.
The team's results suggested that even small improvements in self-control for young people could result in important reductions in costs of healthcare, welfare dependency, and crime to a nation.
The research, which was published today in the US-based journal, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS), was part of a long-term study of 1000 Dunedin people during the first 32 years of their lives.
Team co-leader Professor Terri Moffitt said children as young as three who scored lower on measures of self-control were more likely those with higher self-control to later in life have health problems, substance abuse issues, be poorer, more likely to be a single parent and had a higher probability of having a criminal record.
"However, we also found that children whose self-control increased with age tended to have better adult outcomes than initially predicted, showing that self-control can change and with desirable results," Prof Moffitt said.
The results also suggested that all children -- even those who already had above average self-control -- could reap later rewards from universal interventions designed to improve such skills, especially in childhood but also in adolescence, she said.
"This is a highly uplifting message. Not only could the most vulnerable children have a better chance at a happy and healthy life, there is the potential for across-the-board benefits in personal, social and economic well-being."
The research indicated that low self-control made children vulnerable to "snares" that could have life-long impacts on their health, wealth and well-being.
"These children tended to have difficulties while they were adolescents, including starting to smoke tobacco, becoming a teen parent of an unplanned baby, and leaving secondary school with no qualification," Prof Moffitt said.
"Our research singles out children's self-control as a clear target for prevention policy, apart from all other influential features of children's backgrounds, such as their family life, socio-economic status or the child's intelligence."