The Collapse of Parenting: How We Hurt Our Kids When We Treat Them Like Grown-Ups

by Leonard Sax

Conscientiousness. Individuals who are more Conscientious earn and save more money, even after researchers adjust for intelligence, race, ethnicity, and education. Individuals who are more Conscientious are also significantly happier than individuals who are less Conscientious, and they are substantially more satisfied with their lives.3 Other studies have shown that Conscientiousness predicts better health and longer life.4 People who are more Conscientious are less likely to become obese.5 They are less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease.6 They are more likely to live longer and happier lives7 and, as noted above, more likely to be satisfied with their lives.8 Teenagers who are more Conscientious are less likely subsequently to use drugs or alcohol or to engage in risky sexual behaviors.9 Although it’s true that more Conscientious individuals enjoy higher socioeconomic status on average compared with less Conscientious individuals, the benefit of Conscientiousness with regard to health can’t be attributed to socioeconomic status for two reasons: first, the researchers in all these studies controlled for socioeconomic status; second, the magnitude of the health benefit of Conscientiousness is more than three times the benefit associated with socioeconomic status.10 No other human trait can pull off this hat trick. No other human trait predicts significantly greater wealth and health and happiness among those who possess it compared with those who do not.