The Importance of Childhood for Wellbeing

Conditions experienced during childhood have a wide range of long-term effects on health and life trajectories. In an ageing society, the importance of childhood circumstances becomes increasingly pronounced. Investing in children’s wellbeing helps to build a sustainable society for the future.

This page presents research carried out within the DEMOGRAPHY programme that examines the importance of childhood for health, the impact of family relationships on wellbeing, and the links between early risk factors and later life outcomes.

The research findings provide up-to-date and reliable knowledge for decision-makers and for everyone interested in the relationship between childhood conditions, wellbeing, and the life course. The findings help to explain how early-life circumstances shape health and social relationships later in life.

Publications

Goisis, A., & Myrskylä, M. (2021). Well-being of children born after medically assisted reproduction. Gynäkologe, 54, 917–921. ​

Helle, S., Tanskanen, A. O., Coall, D. A., Perry, G., Daly, M., & Danielsbacka, M. (2024). Investment by maternal grandmother buffers children against the impacts of adverse early life experiences. Scientific Reports, 14, 6815.

Kailaheimo-Lönnqvist, S., Jalovaara, M., & Myrskylä, M. (2025). Parental separation and children’s education—Changes over time? European Journal of Population, 41, 5.

Kailaheimo-Lönnqvist, S., Kuja-Halkola, R., Larsson, H., Lichtenstein, P., & Latvala, A. (2022). Parental criminality and children’s educational attainment: A population-based extended family study. Journal of Criminal Justice, 81, 101920.

Karhunen, O., Jokela, M., & Golovina, K. (2023). Associations between early family environment and fertility ideals. International Journal of Psychology, 58(6), 574–583.

Kearns, M. L., Lahdenperä, M., Galante, L., Rautava, S., Lagström, H., & Reynolds, C. M. (2025). Association of paternal BMI and diet during pregnancy with offspring birth measures: The STEPS study. Nutrients, 17(5), 866.

Klemetti, R., Perry, B., Aaris Henningsen, A. K., Spangmose, A. L., Pinborg, A., Opdahl, S., Romundstad, L. B., Bergh, C., Wennerholm, U. B., Tiitinen, A., & Gissler, M. (2022). Puberty disorders among ART-conceived singletons: A Nordic register study from the CoNARTaS group. Human Reproduction, 37(10), 2402–2411.

Korhonen, K., Leinonen, T., Tarkiainen, L., Einiö, E., & Martikainen, P. (2023). Childhood socio-economic circumstances and dementia: prospective register-based cohort study of adulthood socio-economic and cardiovascular health mediators. International Journal of Epidemiology, 52(2), 523–535.

Lahdenperä, M., Galante, L., Gonzales-Inca, C., Vahtera, J., Pentti, J., Rautava, S., Käyhkö, N., Yonemitsu, C., Gupta, J., Bode, L. & Lagström, H. (2023). Residential green environments are associated with human milk oligosaccharide diversity and composition. Scientific Reports 13:216.

Nissinen, N. M., Rangmar, J., Autti-Rämö, I., Gissler, M., Kahila, H., Raitasalo, K., & Sarkola, T. (2023). Financial difficulties among youth prenatally exposed to substances: a longitudinal register-based cohort study. Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy, 31(3), 348–357.

Ozsvar, J., Gissler, M., Lavebratt, C., & Nilsson, I. A. K. (2023). Exposures during pregnancy and at birth are associated with the risk of offspring eating disorders. The International journal of eating disorders, 56(12), 2232–2249.

Palumbo, L., Berrington, A., & Eibich, P. (2024). Parental SES gradient in young Britons’ partnership expectations. Advances in Life Course Research, 61, 100630.

Pelikh, A., Smith, K., Myrskylä, M., & Goisis, A. (2022). Medically assisted reproduction treatment types. Obstetrics & Gynecology, 139(2), 211–222.

Pettay, J.E., Danielsbacka, M., Helle, S., Perry, G., Daly, M. & Tanskanen, A.O. (2023). Parental Investment by Birth Fathers and Stepfathers. Roles of Mating Effort and Childhood Co-residence Duration. Human Nature, 34, 276–294.

Sakkeus, L., Schwanitz, K., Abuladze, L. & Rudissaar, U. (2023). Life-course Factors and Later Life Health in Eastern and Western Europe. Comparative Population Studies, 48, 231−260.

Silventoinen, K., Luukkonen, J., Myrskylä, M. & Martikainen, P. (2023). Birth size, school performance and family social position: a study of 650,000 children. Pediatric Research 94, 2105–2114.

Tanskanen, A.O., Metsä-Simola, N., Volotinen, L., Danielsbacka, M., Martikainen, P. & Remes, H. (2023). Maternal psychiatric and somatic illness, and the risk of unintentional injuries in children: variation by type of maternal illness, type of injury and child age. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 77, 1-6.

Tuominen, M.& Tikkanen, J. (2023). Adolescent social capital: An intergenerational resource? Journal of Adolescence 95(7), 1420–1434.