The Childhood Roots of an Optimistic Life

What makes someone grow up to be an optimist? Researchers asked over 200,000 adults in 22 countries about their childhood experiences and their current levels of optimism. They wanted to know: do the things that happen to us early in life leave a lasting mark on how hopeful we are as adults?

Optimism is not simply a trait we are born with; it is nurtured or harmed by the world we grow up in.

The answer, on average across countries, was yes. People who had good relationships with their parents, grew up in families that were financially comfortable, and were in good health as children tended to report higher optimism in adulthood. Going to religious services regularly as a child was also tied to higher adult optimism — even in some of the most secular countries studied. On the flip side, people who experienced childhood abuse, whose parents divorced, whose families struggled financially, or who felt like outsiders in their own families tended to report lower optimism later in life.

Feeling like an outsider stood out as one of the strongest factors tied to lower optimism, and this pattern appeared across many different cultures. But the study also found that the strength of these connections varied a lot from country to country. For example, growing up financially comfortable was more strongly tied to adult optimism in wealthier countries, while in some lower-income countries the connection was weaker. This suggests that while some childhood experiences may matter everywhere, the way they shape optimism depends on the society a person grows up in. It is important to remember that this study describes patterns — it cannot prove that these childhood experiences directly cause optimism or pessimism later in life.