How Childhood Shapes Where You Fit In As An Adult

What makes you feel like you fit in? It turns out, your childhood plays a big role. A recent study looked at how experiences from childhood affect how connected people feel as adults. The study gathered data from over 200, 000 people across 22 different countries. It found that having a good relationship with parents, especially mothers, and being in good health as a child can make a big difference in how connected someone feels as an adult. On the flip side, negative experiences like abuse, feeling left out, or having money troubles can make it harder to feel like you belong. Even things like moving to a new country or parents getting divorced can have a small negative impact. Interestingly, going to religious services regularly was linked to feeling more connected in some countries, but not in others. The study also found that where you live matters a lot. For example, in Argentina, having a great relationship with your mom as a kid was a strong predictor of feeling like you belong as an adult. But in Japan, the effect wasn't as strong. Similarly, the impact of childhood abuse varied. In Turkey and South Africa, it had a big negative effect, but in the United States and Nigeria, the impact was smaller. In some countries, like Spain, the Philippines, and Brazil, going to religious services regularly was linked to feeling more connected. But in Sweden, and to some extent in South Africa, the opposite was true. This shows that culture and context play a huge role in how childhood experiences shape our sense of belonging. So, what does this all mean? It means that feeling like you belong as an adult is shaped by many factors, and those factors can vary a lot depending on where you live. It's a reminder that everyone's experience is unique, and that the things that make us feel connected are complex and multifaceted.