Psychological Skills, Education, and Longevity of High-Ability Individuals

Based on the 1922–1991 Terman data of children with high ability, I investigate the effects of childhood psychological skills and post-compulsory education on longevity. I identify causal effects and account for measurement error using factor-analytic methodology (Heckman et al., 2006). Latent class analysis supports the causal interpretation of results. For males, I find strong effects of psychological skills and education on longevity and an interaction between personality and education. Results are in line with the IV literature. For females, who are born around 1910 and live longer than men, I find no effects of education and personality on longevity.