WP Title: What are the life-span health consequences of childhood self-control?
For WP1 substantial time in the 8 months of the project was dedicated to preparing datasets for analysis (e.g. variable cleaning, coding missing data), data management (e.g. preparation of do-files/syntax), data analysis, and preparing the results for presentation and academic papers.This work identified linkages between childhood self-control and a series of adult health outcomes including self-reported mental health and well-being, the presence of chronic conditions and pain, and physiological dysregulation and mortality. The role of socioeconomic background was also investigated and shown not to systematically modify the links identified between self-control and subsequent health. This research was presented to relevant policy audiences in a set of talks detailed below. A paper was also prepared on the links between time perspective (a key contributor to self-control) and mortality which was published in Annals of Behavioral Medicine, the leading field journal in this area (Daly et al., 2019). Extensive background research was also conducted at this time to understand the role of cognitive ability and socioeconomic status (two key correlates of self-control) to later health and well-being which was published in the top-ranked journal, Psychological Medicine (Bridger & Daly, 2019).
WP Title: What are the key mechanisms linking early life self-control to adult health?
For WP2 extensive work was completed examining the potential processes linking childhood self-control to adult health. In the model proposed as part of this research education attainment is proposed to play a central role in translating the contribution of early self-control into health benefits. For instance, self-control is considered to bolster academic motivation and persistence, and greater educational attainment is linked to social mobility, enhanced health behaviours and more years of good health later in life. Findings on the role of educational attainment and other potential mediating factors were prepared and presented in a set of talks described below. In addition, a paper on the relationship between early self-control and academic attainment was published (Daly & Corcoran, 2019).
