Early life experiences and adult orientation to promote good in 22 countries
Abstract Prior research suggests associations between character involving an orientation to promote good (i.e., a disposition to take actions that contribute to the good of oneself and others) and improved well-being outcomes. However, less is known about childhood factors that may lead to a greater...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2025-07-01
|
| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-03343-7 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849399724816203776 |
|---|---|
| author | Ying Chen Eric S. Kim Julia S. Nakamura Dorota Weziak-Bialowolska Renae Wilkinson R. Noah Padgett Byron R. Johnson Tyler J. VanderWeele |
| author_facet | Ying Chen Eric S. Kim Julia S. Nakamura Dorota Weziak-Bialowolska Renae Wilkinson R. Noah Padgett Byron R. Johnson Tyler J. VanderWeele |
| author_sort | Ying Chen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Prior research suggests associations between character involving an orientation to promote good (i.e., a disposition to take actions that contribute to the good of oneself and others) and improved well-being outcomes. However, less is known about childhood factors that may lead to a greater disposition to promote good. This study used data from 202,898 adults in 22 countries to evaluate childhood antecedents of an orientation to promote good. We examined the associations between retrospectively reported childhood experiences and adult disposition to promote good in each country individually, and cross-nationally by meta-analytically pooling results across countries. The pooled results suggest that childhood experiences including having positive relationships with parents, higher subjective financial status, better childhood self-rated health, frequent religious service attendance, an earlier year of birth, and being female were associated with a greater orientation to promote good in adulthood. Conversely, the childhood experiences of abuse and feeling like an outsider in the family were associated with lower levels of promoting good. In country-specific analyses, the direction and strength of these associations differed by country, indicating diverse societal influences. This study provides a valuable foundation for future investigations into the influence of childhood experiences on character across cultures and national contexts. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-db8ae716cbfb4f199ff7108f71b2c886 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-db8ae716cbfb4f199ff7108f71b2c8862025-08-20T03:38:15ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-07-0115111410.1038/s41598-025-03343-7Early life experiences and adult orientation to promote good in 22 countriesYing Chen0Eric S. Kim1Julia S. Nakamura2Dorota Weziak-Bialowolska3Renae Wilkinson4R. Noah Padgett5Byron R. Johnson6Tyler J. VanderWeele7Human Flourishing Program, Institute for Quantitative Social Science, Harvard UniversityDepartment of Psychology, University of British ColumbiaDepartment of Psychology, University of British ColumbiaHuman Flourishing Program, Institute for Quantitative Social Science, Harvard UniversityHuman Flourishing Program, Institute for Quantitative Social Science, Harvard UniversityHuman Flourishing Program, Institute for Quantitative Social Science, Harvard UniversityHuman Flourishing Program, Institute for Quantitative Social Science, Harvard UniversityHuman Flourishing Program, Institute for Quantitative Social Science, Harvard UniversityAbstract Prior research suggests associations between character involving an orientation to promote good (i.e., a disposition to take actions that contribute to the good of oneself and others) and improved well-being outcomes. However, less is known about childhood factors that may lead to a greater disposition to promote good. This study used data from 202,898 adults in 22 countries to evaluate childhood antecedents of an orientation to promote good. We examined the associations between retrospectively reported childhood experiences and adult disposition to promote good in each country individually, and cross-nationally by meta-analytically pooling results across countries. The pooled results suggest that childhood experiences including having positive relationships with parents, higher subjective financial status, better childhood self-rated health, frequent religious service attendance, an earlier year of birth, and being female were associated with a greater orientation to promote good in adulthood. Conversely, the childhood experiences of abuse and feeling like an outsider in the family were associated with lower levels of promoting good. In country-specific analyses, the direction and strength of these associations differed by country, indicating diverse societal influences. This study provides a valuable foundation for future investigations into the influence of childhood experiences on character across cultures and national contexts.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-03343-7Disposition to promote goodCharacterChildhood predictorsWell-beingCultureCross-national |
| spellingShingle | Ying Chen Eric S. Kim Julia S. Nakamura Dorota Weziak-Bialowolska Renae Wilkinson R. Noah Padgett Byron R. Johnson Tyler J. VanderWeele Early life experiences and adult orientation to promote good in 22 countries Scientific Reports Disposition to promote good Character Childhood predictors Well-being Culture Cross-national |
| title | Early life experiences and adult orientation to promote good in 22 countries |
| title_full | Early life experiences and adult orientation to promote good in 22 countries |
| title_fullStr | Early life experiences and adult orientation to promote good in 22 countries |
| title_full_unstemmed | Early life experiences and adult orientation to promote good in 22 countries |
| title_short | Early life experiences and adult orientation to promote good in 22 countries |
| title_sort | early life experiences and adult orientation to promote good in 22 countries |
| topic | Disposition to promote good Character Childhood predictors Well-being Culture Cross-national |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-03343-7 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT yingchen earlylifeexperiencesandadultorientationtopromotegoodin22countries AT ericskim earlylifeexperiencesandadultorientationtopromotegoodin22countries AT juliasnakamura earlylifeexperiencesandadultorientationtopromotegoodin22countries AT dorotaweziakbialowolska earlylifeexperiencesandadultorientationtopromotegoodin22countries AT renaewilkinson earlylifeexperiencesandadultorientationtopromotegoodin22countries AT rnoahpadgett earlylifeexperiencesandadultorientationtopromotegoodin22countries AT byronrjohnson earlylifeexperiencesandadultorientationtopromotegoodin22countries AT tylerjvanderweele earlylifeexperiencesandadultorientationtopromotegoodin22countries |