Early Life Experiences and Adult Community Participation in Secular and Religious Contexts in 22 Countries

Participation in community groups (including both secular and religious groups) is associated with improved health, well-being, and societal cohesion. However, less is known about conditions that increase community participation across the life-course, especially childhood factors. Using data from 202,898 adults across 22 countries, this study evaluated childhood candidate antecedents of community participation in both secular and religious contexts during adulthood. The associations were examined in each country separately, and also cross-nationally by meta-analytically pooling country-specific estimates. The results suggest that the childhood experiences of living comfortably financially, child abuse, feeling like an outsider in the family, having excellent self-rated health, frequent religious service attendance, a later birth year, and being male were each associated with a greater likelihood of weekly ⁺ secular community participation in adulthood. In comparison, the childhood experiences of having good relationship with father, having married parents, frequent religious service attendance, and an earlier year of birth were each associated with a higher likelihood of weekly ⁺ religious service attendance in adulthood. The direction and strength of these associations differed by country, indicating diverse societal influences. The findings provide valuable insights into early-life experiences that may shape different forms of community participation later in life across societies.