J Pers. 2016 Aug;84(4):547-53. doi: 10.1111/jopy.12180. Epub 2015 Jun 3.

The Kind of Student You Were in Elementary School Predicts Mortality.

Spengler M¹, Roberts BW², Lüdtke O³, Martin R¹, Brunner M⁴.

Author information

¹University of Luxembourg.
²University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
³Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education.
⁴Free University and Berlin-Brandenburg Institute for School Quality.

Abstract

We examined the association of self-reported and teacher-rated student characteristics assessed at the end of primary school with all-cause mortality assessed through age 52. Data stem from a representative sample of students from Luxembourg assessed in 1968 (N = 2,543; M = 11.9 years, SD = 0.6; 49.9% female; N = 166 participants died). Results from logistic regression analyses showed that the self-reported responsible student scale (OR = .81; CI = [.70; .95]) and the teacher rating of studiousness (OR = .80; CI = [.67; .96]) were predictive for all-cause mortality even after controlling for IQ, parental SES, and sex. These findings indicate that both observer-rated and self-reported student behaviors are important life-course predictors for mortality and are perhaps more important than childhood IQ.