The University of Cambridge study used data from more than 10,000 people born between 2000 and 2002 to understand the long-term interaction between our early relationships with our parents, prosociality and mental health. It is one of the first studies to analyze how these characteristics interact over a long period spanning childhood and adolescence.

Researchers found that people who experienced warm, loving relationships with their parents at age three not only tended to have fewer mental health problems during early childhood and adolescence, but also showed greater “prosocial” tendencies. This refers to socially desirable behaviors intended to benefit others, such as kindness, empathy, helping, generosity, and volunteering.

Although the correlation between parent-child relationships and later prosociality needs to be verified through further research, the study points to a considerable association. On average, he found that for every standard unit above “normal” levels that a child’s closeness to his parents was greater at age three, his prosociality increased by 0.24 of a standard unit in adolescence.

In contrast, children whose early relationships with parents were emotionally strained or abusive were less likely to develop prosocial habits over time. The researchers suggest that this strengthens the case for developing targeted policies and support for young families, within which establishing close relationships between parents and children may not always be easy; for example, if parents are struggling with financial and work pressures and don’t have much time.

The study also explored the extent to which mental health and prosocial behavior are fixed “traits” in young people, and the extent to which they fluctuate depending on circumstances such as changes in school or personal relationships. It measured both mental health and prosociality at ages five, seven, 11, 14, and 17 to develop a comprehensive picture of the dynamics that shape these characteristics and how they interact.

The research was carried out by Ioannis Katsantonis and Dr Ros McLellan, both from the Faculty of Education at the University of Cambridge.

Katsantonis, lead author and PhD researcher specializing in psychology and education, said: “Our analysis showed that after a certain age, we tend to be mentally well or mentally unwell, and have a reasonably fixed level of resilience. Prosociality varies more and during longer, depending on our environment. A major influence appears to be our early relationship with our parents. As children, we internalize those aspects of our relationships with parents that are characterized by emotion, care, and warmth. This affects our future disposition to be kind and helpful to others.”

The study used data from 10,700 participants in the Millennium Cohort Study, which has monitored the development of a large group of people born in the United Kingdom between 2000 and 2002. It includes survey-based information about their prosociality and “internalizing” symptoms of mental health (such as depression and anxiety) and “externalizing” symptoms (such as aggression).

Other survey data provided information about the extent to which participants’ relationships with their parents at age three were characterized by “maltreatment” (physical and verbal abuse); emotional conflict; and ‘closeness’ (warmth, security and attention). Other potentially confounding factors, such as ethnicity and socioeconomic status, were also taken into account.

The Cambridge team then used a complex form of statistical analysis called the latent state-trait-occasion model to understand the extent to which participants’ mental health symptoms and prosocial inclinations seemed to express fixed personality “traits” at each stage. of its development. This allowed them, for example, to determine the extent to which a child who behaved anxiously when surveyed was responding to a particular experience or set of circumstances, and the extent to which he was simply a naturally anxious child.

The study found some evidence of a link between mental health problems and prosociality. In particular, children who showed above-average externalizing mental health symptoms at a younger age showed less prosociality than usual later in life. For example, for every standard unit increase above normal that a child showed externalizing mental health problems at age seven, his or her prosociality typically decreased by 0.11 units at age 11.

However, there was no clear evidence that the opposite applied. While children with above-average prosociality generally had better mental health at one point, this did not mean that their mental health improved as they grew older. Based on this finding, the study suggests that schools’ efforts to encourage prosocial behaviors may have more impact if they are integrated into the curriculum on a sustained basis, rather than implemented in the form of one-time interventions, such as anti-social behaviors. Weeks of harassment.

In addition to being more prosocial, children who had closer relationships with their parents at age three also tended to have fewer symptoms of poor mental health in childhood and adolescence.

Katsantonis said the findings underscored the importance of cultivating strong early parent-child relationships, something already considered critical to supporting children’s healthy development in other areas.

“A lot of this is due to parents,” Katsantonis said. “How much time they can spend with their children and respond to their needs and emotions early in life is of great importance.”

“Some may need help learning how to do this, but we should not underestimate the importance of simply giving them time. Closeness only develops over time, and for parents who live or work in stressful and limited circumstances, there is often not enough” “Policies that address this, at any level, will have many benefits, including increasing children’s mental resilience and their ability to act positively towards others in the future.”