Abstract
Studies of children and adolescents indicate that success in life is determined in part by attributes such as conscientiousness, emotional stability and sense of control, independently of childhood socioeconomic status and cognitive ability. Less is known about the role of these characteristics at older ages. This study investigated the relationship of five life skills – conscientiousness, emotional stability, persistence, optimism and sense of control – with a range of outcomes in 8,843 participants (mean age 72.57 years) in the Health and Retirement Study, a representative study of older Americans. More life skills were associated with greater wealth and income, better emotional wellbeing, stronger social relationships, less loneliness, better health, fewer chronic illnesses and impaired activities of daily living, better mobility and less obesity, after controlling for childhood socioeconomic status and current cognitive ability. Longitudinally, more life skills predicted emotional wellbeing, less loneliness and more prosocial behavior, better health and mobility over a 4 year period. Associations were independent of gender, ethnicity, family background, education and cognitive ability. The number of attributes was important rather than any single life skill. Life skills continue to matter at advanced ages, and fostering these characteristics in older adults may pay dividends in terms of later life health and wellbeing.
Highlights
Life skills comprise a set of personal, social and emotional characteristics and capabilities including conscientiousness, emotional stability, optimism, persistence and determination, sense of control and social skill that are thought to impact success in life[1,2]
Compared with the low skill category, the odds of being in the high wealth quintile adjusted for age, sex, ethnicity, father’s education, own education and cognitive ability ranged from 1.20 (95%CI 1.01–1.41) for individuals with 1 life skill to 1.37 (95%CI 1.11–1.79) for those with 4/5 skills
The pattern of results was unchanged (Table 6), even though the sample size was reduced. These analyses of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) showed that among older Americans, greater numbers of life skills were associated with greater wealth and income, fewer depressive symptoms, less anxiety and stress, less social isolation and loneliness, more close relationships and volunteering, better self-rated health, less chronic illness and impaired ADLs, faster walking speed, and less obesity and central adiposity
Summary
Life skills comprise a set of personal, social and emotional characteristics and capabilities including conscientiousness, emotional stability, optimism, persistence and determination, sense of control and social skill that are thought to impact success in life[1,2]. These factors are often described as ‘non-cognitive’ to distinguish them from intellectual ability, and are an emerging focus of educational and developmental programs[3,4]. The analyses took account of age, sex, ethnicity, family socioeconomic background, education, and cognitive ability, so as to investigate the impact of life skills independently of early life circumstances and current cognition
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