Abstract
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.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.