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. 2014 Nov;124(580):F720-F738.
doi: 10.1111/ecoj.12170.

WHAT PREDICTS A SUCCESSFUL LIFE? A LIFE-COURSE MODEL OF WELL-BEING

Richard Layard  1 , Andrew E Clark  2 , Francesca Cornaglia  3 , Nattavudh Powdthavee  4 , James Vernoit  1
Affiliations

WHAT PREDICTS A SUCCESSFUL LIFE? A LIFE-COURSE MODEL OF WELL-BEING

Richard Layard et al. Econ J (London). 2014 Nov.

Abstract

Policy-makers who care about well-being need a recursive model of how adult life-satisfaction is predicted by childhood influences, acting both directly and (indirectly) through adult circumstances. We estimate such a model using the British Cohort Study (1970). We show that the most powerful childhood predictor of adult life-satisfaction is the child's emotional health, followed by the child's conduct. The least powerful predictor is the child's intellectual development. This may have implications for educational policy. Among adult circumstances, family income accounts for only 0.5% of the variance of life-satisfaction. Mental and physical health are much more important.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. A Model of Adult Life-Satisfaction
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. Adult Outcomes
Fig. 3
Fig. 3. Childhood Variables
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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