The researchers work was observational, but the researchers had taken into account factors such as cognitive ability and education, and ruled them out as influences on the skills.

“We were surprised by the range of processes – economic, social, psychological, biological, and health and disability related – that seem to be related to these life skills,” said Professor Andrew Steptoe of the department of Epidemiology and Public Health, who co-led the research.

And one of the most interesting things about the research is that it implies these skills can be improved upon in later life.

“No single attribute was more important than others. Rather, the effects depended on the accumulation of life skills,” said Steptoe.

While co-author Prof Jane Wardle, of UCL, concluded that it’s important to learn persistence, conscientiousness, and control in our early years, but that the skills could be cultivated in later life to improve the wellbeing of older people.

Images: iStock.

These five skills are the key to happiness and success, says study