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 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. Competing Interest Statement Tyler VanderWeele reports consulting fees from Gloo Inc., along with shared revenue received by Harvard University in its license agreement with Gloo according to the University IP policy. Other authors have no conflicts of interest to declare. Funding Statement The Global Flourishing Study was supported by funding from the John Templeton Foundation (grant #61665), Templeton Religion Trust (#1308), Templeton World Charity Foundation (#0605), Well-Being for Planet Earth Foundation, Fetzer Institute (#4354), Well Being Trust, Paul L. Foster Family Foundation, and the David and Carol Myers Foundation. The funding source had no impact on the study design; on the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; on the writing of the report; or on the decision to submit the article for publication. Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: Ethical approval was granted by the institutional review boards at Baylor University (IRB Reference #: 6431841317) and Gallup (IRB Reference #: 2021-11-02), and all participants provided informed consent. Data for Wave 1 of the Global Flourishing Study is available through the Center for Open Science upon submission of a pre-registration (https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/3JTZ8). I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable. Yes Data Availability Data for Wave 1 of the Global Flourishing Study is available through the Center for Open Science upon submission of a pre-registration (https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/3JTZ8), and will be openly available without pre-registration beginning February 2025. Please see https://www.cos.io/gfs-access-data for more information about data access.