(PS7-62) A Factor Analysis of Benevolent Childhood Experiences in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health

Abstract Text: Over the past decade, researchers have increasingly emphasized the importance of Benevolent Childhood Experiences (BCEs) in shaping children’s development. These positive, supportive experiences during childhood help build resilience, promote wellbeing, and counteract the negative effects of adversity. BCEs include safe and supportive relationships with caregivers, friends, teachers, and neighbors; positive internal beliefs like self-esteem and faith; and predictable life routines, such as family traditions and community activities (Bethell et al., 2019; Morris et al., 2021; Narayan et al., 2023). Most longitudinal studies rely on individual survey questions to measure BCEs, but this approach fails to provide a reliable, valid, and multidimensional assessment of the construct. This study aimed to validate the measurement of BCEs through factor analysis using the nationally representative National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health dataset). This dataset spans multiple waves: Wave I (1994–1995) surveyed 90,118 students in grades 7–12 across 145 schools; Wave II (1996) followed up with 14,738 of these adolescents; Wave III (2001–2002) included 15,197 participants aged 18–26; Wave IV (2007–2008) collected data from 15,701 participants aged 24–32; and Wave V (2016-2018) collected data from 11,022 participants aged 32-42. This study focuses on outcome variables in young adulthood (i.e., from Waves III and IV), employing Add Health’s survey weights to ensure nationally representative results. We identified items in the Add Health dataset that reflected items from the Revised Benevolent Childhood Experiences Scale (Narayan et al., 2023). This included a safe caregiver, a good friend, beliefs that provided comfort, enjoyment of school, a caring teacher, good neighbors, a supportive non-caregiver adult, opportunities to have a good time, positive self-image or self-esteem, a predictable home routine, feeling accepted, an adult who cared about school progress and achievements, positive sleep routines, access to food that was healthy and nutritious, access to adequate medical care when needed, fair and just treatment in the family and community, adequate law enforcement in the community to feel safe, someone to teach you to say “no” to negative influences, regular time outside in sunshine or nature, and something that you were good at or that made you proud. Our findings showed that a factor analytic approach reliably captured multiple dimensions of BCEs early in life. These dimensions also predicted future outcomes decades later, demonstrating their relevance across diverse populations, including differences in race, ethnicity, and income status. These results highlight the importance of examining the multidimensional nature of BCEs and suggest new ways to explore resilience by focusing on the strengths and support systems present in childhood. We hope results will inform ways that cognitive behavioral interventions can help families increase BCEs in children's lives as an additional tool for promoting healing and resilience.