How Your Childhood Shapes Your Adult Friendships

Ever wonder why some people have strong friendships and support systems while others struggle? A big study looked into this. It found that what happens in your childhood can really shape your friendships and social support as an adult. The study involved over 200, 000 people from 22 different countries. It showed that having good health, a stable family life, and strong relationships with parents can lead to better friendships later in life. On the flip side, growing up in a family with financial troubles or feeling like an outsider can make it harder to build close connections. The study also found that these effects aren't the same everywhere. For example, the impact of having a good relationship with your mother varied a lot from country to country. In some places, it had a strong positive effect, while in others, it was less important or even had a negative effect. This shows that culture and society play a big role in how childhood experiences shape adult friendships. The researchers used fancy statistical methods to make sure their findings were solid. They wanted to rule out other factors that might be influencing the results. The study suggests that if we want to help people build strong social connections as adults, we need to start early. Interventions in childhood could make a big difference. But these interventions need to be tailored to the specific cultural and social context of each country.