How children are raised may matter for social well-being worldwide
By University of Nottingham
At home, a child seeking comfort depends on a caregiver’s
response, while time for free play offers room to explore. A University of
Nottingham-led study linked these experiences, along with a positive
emotional atmosphere at home, to well-being years later. 
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Positive childhood
experiences were generally stronger predictors of adult well-being than the
absence of negative ones, suggesting that avoiding harm captures only part of
what matters.
Across the United Kingdom, the United States, and Japan, adults’ reports of supportive childhood experiences were associated with better health, greater happiness and life satisfaction, and lower anxiety.
The
connections extended to how people felt about those around them, including
their satisfaction with social relationships, sense of belonging in their
neighborhoods, and trust in others. Published in the Journal of Happiness
Studies, the findings were consistent across substantial cultural
differences and remained statistically significant after accounting for
demographic factors such as income and education.
The care infants may have evolved to expect
The researchers examined these childhood experiences through
the “evolved nest,” a framework of parenting practices that human infants are
theorized to have evolved to expect. These practices have previously been
identified as critical for healthy development.
“We know that childhood experiences play a critical role in
shaping well-being over the lifespan,” said study lead Dr. Eugene Malthouse, of
the University of Nottingham’s School of Economics. “Our study highlights the
value of looking at how we collectively raise children from an evolutionary
perspective, since the environments in which we evolved as a species are very
different to those in which many people live today.”
Positive childhood experiences were generally stronger
predictors
Working with researchers from the University of Warwick and
the University of Osaka, the Nottingham team examined responses from adults
ages 18 to 34. Participants reported their childhood experiences of these
practices and then answered questions about their current well-being. Many of
those questions are routinely used by the UK’s Office for National Statistics
in its assessments of well-being.
Participants’ childhood experiences could be grouped into
positive and negative categories, allowing the researchers to distinguish
between having supportive experiences and being spared harmful ones. Much
previous research has emphasized avoiding negative experiences, while this
study found a generally stronger predictive relationship with positive ones.
The adults were looking back on life at home, so the
associations with their current well-being do not establish that those
childhood experiences caused the outcomes. “Overall, our results highlight the
importance of providing experiences that support the biological, psychological,
and social needs of children,” said Malthouse. “They also demonstrate the value
of the evolved nest as a framework for thinking about those experiences.”
Reference: “The Evolved Nest in Childhood: Relation to Adult
Well-being and Social Capital Across Cultures” by Eugene Malthouse, Nobuyuki
Hanaki and Gordon D. A. Brown, 30 September 2026, Journal of Happiness
Studies.
DOI:
10.1007/s10902-026-01109-0
Funded by the European Research Council
