title: Childhood Environment and Mental Wellbeing at Age 60-64 Years: Prospective Evidence from the MRC National Survey of Health and Development.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Mental wellbeing, conceptualised as positive affect, life satisfaction and realisation of needs that contribute to psychological growth, captures more than the absence of mental ill health. Several nations now aim to monitor and improve mental wellbeing. Whilst many studies document associations between adverse childhood experiences and mental disorders in adulthood, possible links between childhood experiences and adult mental wellbeing have so far received less attention.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using data from 1976 men and women in the MRC National Survey for Health and Development, we investigated prospective associations between childhood socioeconomic and psychosocial environments and the Warwick Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale, designed to capture both hedonic and eudaimonic facets of wellbeing, at age 60-64.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Whilst there was no evidence that childhood socioeconomic circumstances were related to later wellbeing independently of other childhood experiences, elements of childrearing and parenting, parental health and adjustment, and childhood illness were related. More advantaged socioeconomic position was associated with greater wellbeing but this did not explain the links between these childhood exposures and adult wellbeing, suggesting alternative explanatory pathways should be considered.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Childhood illness and family psychosocial environment are associated with mental wellbeing in early older age, with effects sizes that are larger or comparable to socioeconomic circumstances in adulthood. Initiatives to improve the nation's mental wellbeing that include programmes targeted to supporting families and children may additionally have benefits that continue into older age.
authors.affiliation: MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at UCL, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Mai
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stafford
authors.affiliation: MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom; Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Catharine R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Gale
authors.affiliation: School of Population Health, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
authors.forename: Gita
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mishra
authors.affiliation: MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at UCL, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Marcus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Richards
authors.affiliation: MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at UCL, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Black
authors.affiliation: MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at UCL, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Diana L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Kuh
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D004777:Environment; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies