Suffering varies considerably across countries (lowest in Poland and highest in Türkiye). Several subpopulations appear especially vulnerable to suffering across the countries, including those who were separated from their spouse, unemployed, and had eight or fewer years of education. A combination of risk (e.g., experiencing abuse) and protective (e.g., better quality relationships with parents) factors during childhood were associated with reporting higher suffering in adulthood.
Researchers
Richard Cowden
Harvard University, Psychology
South Africa
Lucía Macchia
University of London City, Psychology/Economics
Zhuo Job Chen
University of North Carolina- Charlotte, Nursing / Psychology
Renae Wilkinson
Harvard University, Sociology
Dorota Maria Weziak-Bialowolska
Kozminski University (Poland), Economics/Sociology
Poland
Thomas Breedlove
Baylor University, Theology
Craig Gundersen
Baylor University, Economics
Koichiro Shiba
Boston University, Epidemiology
Noah Padgett
Harvard University, Epidemiology
Byron R. Johnson
Baylor University, Institute for Studies of Religion/Sociology
Tyler VanderWeele
Harvard University, Epidemiology / Biostatistics
Jennifer Wortham
Harvard University, Public Health
The Question:
What are the country-specific levels, sociodemographic correlates, and childhood predictors of suffering?