Childhood predictors of balance in life: a cross-national analysis of the global flourishing study
Abstract Although the importance of balance has been recognized in various specific domains, from work-life balance to a balanced diet, there has been curiously little attention to balance in life overall (i.e., across all aspects of living). As a result, there is relatively little understanding of...
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Nature Portfolio
2025-04-01
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-89853-w |
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| author | Tim Lomas R. Noah Padgett James L. Ritchie-Dunham James O. Pawelski Koichiro Shiba Byron R. Johnson Tyler J. VanderWeele |
| author_facet | Tim Lomas R. Noah Padgett James L. Ritchie-Dunham James O. Pawelski Koichiro Shiba Byron R. Johnson Tyler J. VanderWeele |
| author_sort | Tim Lomas |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Although the importance of balance has been recognized in various specific domains, from work-life balance to a balanced diet, there has been curiously little attention to balance in life overall (i.e., across all aspects of living). As a result, there is relatively little understanding of its various dynamics, including of any childhood factors that may be associated with balance in adulthood. To gain a better understanding of such factors, we analysed cross-sectional wave 1 data on life balance in the Global Flourishing Study. This is a five-year (minimum) panel study investigating the predictors of human flourishing, involving (in this first year) 202,898 participants from 22 countries, and which includes the item, “In general, how often are the various aspects of your life in balance?” Here we looked at 13 childhood predictors of balance, using random effects meta-analyses to aggregate all findings in the main text, focusing on three research questions. First, how do different aspects of a child’s upbringing predict balance in adulthood?, for which the most impactful factor was “feel[ing] like an outsider in your family” when growing up (Risk Ratio = 0.90), and the least was immigration status (0.98). Second, do these associations vary by country?, with the effect of being an outsider, for example, strongest in Australia, and weakest (not different than zero) in Egypt, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Nigeria, the Philippines, Poland, South Africa, and Turkey. Third, are the observed relationships robust to potential unmeasured confounding, as assessed by E-values, which overall was the case. These results shed new light on the cross-cultural and potential causal dynamics of this overlooked topic and provide the foundation for further enquiry. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3a96074acefe4e2f9e121a7f29d3beda |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-3a96074acefe4e2f9e121a7f29d3beda2025-08-20T02:55:38ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-04-0115111410.1038/s41598-025-89853-wChildhood predictors of balance in life: a cross-national analysis of the global flourishing studyTim Lomas0R. Noah Padgett1James L. Ritchie-Dunham2James O. Pawelski3Koichiro Shiba4Byron R. Johnson5Tyler J. VanderWeele6Human Flourishing Program, Harvard UniversityHuman Flourishing Program, Harvard UniversityMcCombs School of Business, University of Texas at AustinPositive Psychology Center, University of PennsylvaniaDepartment of Epidemiology, Boston UniversityInstitute for Studies of Religion, Baylor UniversityHuman Flourishing Program, Harvard UniversityAbstract Although the importance of balance has been recognized in various specific domains, from work-life balance to a balanced diet, there has been curiously little attention to balance in life overall (i.e., across all aspects of living). As a result, there is relatively little understanding of its various dynamics, including of any childhood factors that may be associated with balance in adulthood. To gain a better understanding of such factors, we analysed cross-sectional wave 1 data on life balance in the Global Flourishing Study. This is a five-year (minimum) panel study investigating the predictors of human flourishing, involving (in this first year) 202,898 participants from 22 countries, and which includes the item, “In general, how often are the various aspects of your life in balance?” Here we looked at 13 childhood predictors of balance, using random effects meta-analyses to aggregate all findings in the main text, focusing on three research questions. First, how do different aspects of a child’s upbringing predict balance in adulthood?, for which the most impactful factor was “feel[ing] like an outsider in your family” when growing up (Risk Ratio = 0.90), and the least was immigration status (0.98). Second, do these associations vary by country?, with the effect of being an outsider, for example, strongest in Australia, and weakest (not different than zero) in Egypt, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Nigeria, the Philippines, Poland, South Africa, and Turkey. Third, are the observed relationships robust to potential unmeasured confounding, as assessed by E-values, which overall was the case. These results shed new light on the cross-cultural and potential causal dynamics of this overlooked topic and provide the foundation for further enquiry.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-89853-wBalanceWellbeingFlourishingGlobalCross-culturalGlobal flourishing study |
| spellingShingle | Tim Lomas R. Noah Padgett James L. Ritchie-Dunham James O. Pawelski Koichiro Shiba Byron R. Johnson Tyler J. VanderWeele Childhood predictors of balance in life: a cross-national analysis of the global flourishing study Scientific Reports Balance Wellbeing Flourishing Global Cross-cultural Global flourishing study |
| title | Childhood predictors of balance in life: a cross-national analysis of the global flourishing study |
| title_full | Childhood predictors of balance in life: a cross-national analysis of the global flourishing study |
| title_fullStr | Childhood predictors of balance in life: a cross-national analysis of the global flourishing study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Childhood predictors of balance in life: a cross-national analysis of the global flourishing study |
| title_short | Childhood predictors of balance in life: a cross-national analysis of the global flourishing study |
| title_sort | childhood predictors of balance in life a cross national analysis of the global flourishing study |
| topic | Balance Wellbeing Flourishing Global Cross-cultural Global flourishing study |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-89853-w |
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