Policymakers hope that early childhood interventions and support can help children achieve their full potential. Some small-scale studies have shown that these interventions are effective, but it would be good to be able to identify who needs these sorts of programs the most, so that limited resources are used optimally. If childhood interventions are effective, then they could alleviate costs in adulthood that are associated with these high-risk childhood behaviors.

A recent study published in Nature Human Behavior shows that a small proportion of the adult population is responsible for a large portion of the economic burden triggered by poor health and criminal behavior, and that this population can be predicted using early childhood risks and exposures. Therefore, interventions that address these risks could improve outcomes in future generations.

The study used the Dunedin Longitudinal Study, which is a population-representative birth cohort of 1,037 people in New Zealand. All participants in this study were born between 1972 and 1973, and this study assessed participants a dozen times between ages three and 38.