Think having children will make you happy?

psychotherapy:

Over the past few decades, social scientists like me have found consistent evidence that there is an almost zero association between having children and happiness. My analysis in the Journal of Socio-economics (Powdthavee, 2008) is a recent British example of parents and non-parents reporting the same levels of life satisfaction, on average.

But the warnings for prospective parents are even more stark than ‘it’s not going to make you happier’. Using data sets from Europe and America, numerous scholars have found some evidence that, on aggregate, parents often report statistically significantly lower levels of happiness (Alesina et al., 2004), life satisfaction (Di Tella et al., 2003), marital satisfaction (Twenge et al., 2003), and mental well-being (Clark & Oswald, 2002) compared with non-parents.

There is also evidence that the strains associated with parenthood are not only limited to the period during which children are physically and economically dependent. For example, Glenn and McLanahan (1981) found those older parents whose children have left home report the same or slightly less happiness than non-parents of similar age and status. Thus, what these results are suggesting is something very controversial – that having children does not bring joy to our lives…

I would love to send this to people who think that having kids will fill the void in their life/marriage.

psychotherapy

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  1. filleainee reblogged this from psychotherapy
  2. quizzical-frisson reblogged this from longlivethequeen and added:
    I’m so still adopting Spencer. Who probably won’t end up being called Spencer because he’ll be old enough to have a name...
  3. longlivethequeen reblogged this from lookleftandlie and added:
    i never wanted kids anyway.
  4. lookleftandlie reblogged this from psychotherapy
  5. holeysoley reblogged this from thebestbirthcontrolofall
  6. caterpillarcowboy reblogged this from micek and added:
    and despite it all, I still want to have children. I mean, not today, but in a few years, with the right person…
  7. micek reblogged this from thebestbirthcontrolofall and added:
    Married couples consistently report the lowest levels of happiness and marital satisfaction in the 2 years after the...
  8. thebestbirthcontrolofall reblogged this from psychotherapy and added:
    HO HO! SCIENCE AGREES.
  9. curlybrunette reblogged this from missworld and added:
    If you want kids, have kids. That will make you happy since you want them. If you don’t want them, don’t have them. If...
  10. heyhope reblogged this from psychotherapy and added:
    So there’s real hope
  11. missworld reblogged this from psychotherapy
  12. pixeljuju reblogged this from psychotherapy
  13. guinnevere reblogged this from psychotherapy
  14. steph reblogged this from psychotherapy
  15. mizzchelle reblogged this from psychotherapy and added:
    This is fascinating. I know my parents thought that having children would make them happier, mostly because they each...
  16. therocketsurgeon reblogged this from pleasedontsqueezetheshaman and added:
    Someday my man and I will be proud parents to a fine collection of vintage Boredeaux. That should keep the happy going.
  17. mindymae reblogged this from psychotherapy
  18. jennzillakilla reblogged this from psychotherapy and added:
    No little bundles
  19. bsides reblogged this from psychotherapy and added:
    people who think...kids will fill the void in their life/marriage.
  20. pleasedontsqueezetheshaman reblogged this from psychotherapy and added:
    How about stuffed walruses? This article makes sense to me, but I could also argue...us...
  21. psychotherapy posted this

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