Childhood self-control and economic and health outcomes across life
The ESRI organises a public seminar series, inviting researchers from both the ESRI and other institutions to present new research on a variety of public policy issues. The seminar series provides access to specialised knowledge and new research methodologies, with the objective of promoting research excellence and facilitating productive dialogue across the policy and research fields.
Guest speaker
Michael Daly, Maynooth University
Seminar topic
The capacity to delay gratification and control impulses emerges in childhood, appears to be malleable, and has been identified by policy-makers as a prevention target with potential long-run benefits. Yet, empirical evidence demonstrating links from early self-control to adult outcomes remains scarce. Using large scale prospective cohort data from the United Kingdom and the United States I ask whether the development of the psychological capacity for self-control may be a key factor that casts a long shadow on health and welfare across life. To achieve this goal and advance prior work I estimate: (i) the specific life-span health outcomes associated with early self-control (e.g. biomarkers, chronic conditions, mortality rates), (ii) the key behavioural and socioeconomic pathways that may explain these linkages, and (iii) the social conditions where self-control may have the greatest health impact. I discuss routes through which a contextualised, population-based account of the potential effects of childhood self-control could inform policy and reshape what is known about the long-run societal implications of this valuable trait.
Speaker bio
Dr. Michael Daly joined the Maynooth University Psychology Department as a Senior Lecturer in 2018 following his appointment as Reader in Behavioural Science at the University of Stirling. Previously Michael has been a Trinity College Ussher Fellow, a Fulbright Scholar at Florida State University, a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow (University of Aberdeen, University College Dublin), an ESRC Future Leaders Fellow, and a lecturer in the School of Psychology at the University of Manchester.
His research interests span three topics: (1) the lifespan outcomes of childhood traits, (2) the dynamic relationship between economic circumstances such as unemployment and health and well-being, and (3) understanding how human health and psychological well-being are related, with a particular focus on the stress-related consequences of body weight.
Michael’s research on these topics has been funded by several bodies including the EU Commission, the Economic and Social Research Council (UK), the National Institute for Health Research (UK), Skills Development Scotland, and the Irish Research Council.