Could studying children teach us about ageing?

If we want to help children succeed and thrive so that they can reach their full potential, we need to understand their mental, biological, and emotional needs.

Join Sean Sanders, Director and Senior Editor for Custom Publishing at Science, as he interviews outstanding researchers in a broad range of fields whose work either directly involves the study of children and adolescents or has a significant impact in their lives. Each interviewee is also the recipient of the Klaus J. Jacobs Research Prize, awarded by the Jacobs Foundation, that recognizes exceptional achievements in the field of child and youth development.

Episode 2: Could studying children teach us about ageing? With Terrie Moffitt and Avshalom Caspi

What can studying children and adolescents teach us about ageing? Is there a connection between mental health in young people and physical health in later life? What changes could we encourage in our children’s lives to reduce the chance of future mental and physical illness, as well as improve their wellbeing?

Listen in as Sean talks to husband-and-wife research team, Terrie Moffitt and Avshalom Caspi about these questions and more.

Terrie Moffitt is Professor of Psychology at Duke University and Professor of Social Development at King’s College London. She studies the consequences of a lifetime of mental and behavioural disorder on processes of ageing.

Avshalom Caspi is Professor of Psychology & Neuroscience at Duke University, and Professor of Personality Development at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, & Neuroscience at King’s College London. His research interests include how childhood experiences shape ageing and how genetic differences between people shape the way they respond to their environments.

Read their new book The Origins of You, out now.