The Childhood Roots of a Good Life

What makes someone grow up wanting to do good for themselves and others? Researchers asked this question using data from over 200,000 adults across 22 countries. They looked at what people remembered about their childhoods — things like their relationship with their parents, how comfortable their family was financially, their health as a kid, whether they went to religious services, and whether they experienced abuse or felt left out in their family.

The story of goodness starts in childhood but is written in the language of our specific time and place.

Then they compared those memories to how much each person agreed with the statement: "I always act to promote good in all circumstances, even in difficult and challenging situations." The results paint a picture of how early life shapes who we become. On average across countries, people who had better relationships with their parents, grew up financially comfortable, had excellent health as children, and attended religious services often tended to score higher on wanting to do good as adults. People who experienced abuse or felt like outsiders in their own families tended to score lower.

Older adults also generally reported a stronger orientation toward doing good. But the findings were not the same everywhere. In some countries, both growing up very comfortable AND growing up with financial difficulties were linked to higher scores — suggesting that sometimes, going through hardship can make people more empathetic and more driven to help others. And the patterns varied widely from country to country, showing that culture and society play a big role in how childhood experiences shape who we become.