Childhood Self-Control and Unemployment Throughout the Life Span: Evidence From Two British Cohort Studies. (June 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Daly, Michael; Delaney, Liam; Egan, Mark; Baumeister, Roy F.
• Is Part Of: Psychological science. Volume 26:Number 6(2015:Jun.)
• Page Start: 709
• Page End: 723
• Publication Date: 2015-06
• Subjects: personality -- self-control -- unemployment -- economic recession -- human capital -- open data -- open materials; Psychology -- Periodicals; 150.5
• DOI: 10.1177/0956797615569001
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0956-7976

Abstract

The capacity for self-control may underlie successful labor-force entry and job retention, particularly in times of economic uncertainty. Analyzing unemployment data from two nationally representative British cohorts ( N = 16, 780), we found that low self-control in childhood was associated with the emergence and persistence of unemployment across four decades. On average, a 1- SD increase in self-control was associated with a reduction in the probability of unemployment of 1.4 percentage points after adjustment for intelligence, social class, and gender. From labor-market entry to middle age, individuals with low self-control experienced 1.6 times as many months of unemployment as those with high self-control. Analysis of monthly unemployment data before and during the 1980s recession showed that individuals with low self-control experienced the greatest increases in unemployment during the recession. Our results underscore the critical role of self-control in shaping life-span trajectories of occupational success and in affecting how macroeconomic conditions affect unemployment levels in the population.