Association of childhood experiences with wellbeing and flourishing outcomes in Indian adults: Evidence from the India Sample of the Global Flourishing Study (GFS)

Background: Childhood experiences contribute to health and wellbeing across the life course, yet research from low- and middle-income countries has largely focused on a few outcomes rather than broader patterns of adult wellbeing, behaviors, and social and financial circumstances. Methods: In this cross-sectional analysis, we used a nationally representative sample of adults in India (N = 12,765; aged [≥] 18 years) from the Global Flourishing Study (GFS) Wave 1 (2023) to examine associations between eight retrospectively reported childhood experience items, 45 adult outcomes, and two composite flourishing indices. Survey-weighted linear, logistic, and proportional-odds models adjusted for age, gender, education, and residential setting, with Bonferroni correction were used to assess associations and effect modification by gender. Findings: Although the breadth and strength of associations differed across childhood experiences, less favorable childhood experiences were generally associated with poorer wellbeing and flourishing, greater odds of adverse health outcomes, and reduced access to resources and safety in adult life. However, outcomes related to prosocial behaviors showed a different pattern: childhood abuse (physical or sexual) was associated with greater odds of volunteering (OR 1.31, 95% confidence interval or CI [1.13,1.51]), feeling like an outsider in one's family with greater odds of donating (OR 1.80, 95% CI [1.52,2.13]), volunteering (OR 1.53, 95% CI [1.28,1.82]), and helping a stranger (OR 1.49, 95% CI [1.27,1.74]). Associations were broadly similar between females and males, with little evidence of gender differences. Interpretation: Associations of childhood adversity with poorer health and increased prosocial behavior in adult life may reflect unmeasured social, cultural, or dispositional factors and heterogeneous life-course responses. Nevertheless, these findings support strengthening child-protection, financial assistance programs, and mental health services in India.