Self-Control, Then and Now

This chapter advances the need to improve the physical and financial health of populations and reduce crime. It focuses on the role of poor self-control in predicting delinquency, health outcomes, substance use dependence, and financial wealth, providing supporting data from the Dunedin longitudinal study and the Environmental-Risk Longitudinal Twin Study. The role of sibling comparisons is stressed to examine differences in self-control among siblings reared in the same family environment. The findings are highly relevant for future intervention programs aimed at enhancing self-control at all levels in the population.

Duke Scholars

Author Terrie E. Moffitt Psychology & Neuroscience