Abstract
Theoretically and empirically, parenting is closely related to the psychological health of offspring, but long-term effects are not well established and international variation unknown. In a pre-registered multilevel modelling analysis, we test whether retrospective parent-child relationship quality (PCRQ) predicts adult wellbeing in a representative sample of 202,898 adults living in 22 countries. Our findings indicate a substantial effect size for PCRQ on an index of flourishing (std mean effect = 0.21, 95% CI 0.19–0.23) and internalized mental health (std mean effect = 0.18, 95% CI 0.17–0.20). We find a positive effect of PCRQ on flourishing in all 22 countries (significant in all but one). Parental religiosity positively predicts PCRQ (std mean effect = 0.09, 95% CI 0.06–0.11). In higher-income and more secular countries, PCRQ is lower but the wellbeing benefits of PCRQ are higher. The positive effect of parental religiosity on PCRQ is found in every country in the sample.