A series of analyses were conducted on eight waves of Chinese national surveys (total N = 85,091) comparing parents’ and non-parents’ happiness and depression. Main findings include (a) Fathers reported higher happiness than men without children, yet mothers were less happy than childless women. Compared to men, parenthood was associated with higher depression among women, (b) Happiness declined, while depression increased with age among non-parents, and the association between age and depression was highest among childless men, and (c) the positive association between subjective SES and happiness was smaller among childless women than among the other groups. Implications of these findings are discussed.
AbeleA. E.SpurkD. (2011). The dual impact of gender and the influence of timing of parenthood on men’s and women’s career development: Longitudinal findings. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 35(3), 225–232. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165025411398181
3.
AdlerN. E.EpelE. S.CastellazzoG.IckovicsJ. R. (2000). Relationship of subjective and objective social status with psychological and physiological functioning: Preliminary data in healthy white women. Health Psychology: Official Journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association, 19(6), 586–592. https://doi.org/10.1037//0278-6133.19.6.586
4.
AndersonC.KrausM. W.GalinskyA. D.KeltnerD. (2012). The local-ladder effect: Social status and subjective well-being. Psychological Science, 23(7), 764–771. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797611434537
5.
BartramD. (2024). To evaluate the age–happiness relationship, look beyond statistical significance. Journal of Happiness Studies, 25(1-2), 22. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-024-00728-9
6.
BauerG.BrandtM.KneipT. (2023). The role of parenthood for life satisfaction of older women and men in Europe. Journal of Happiness Studies, 24(1), 275–307. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-022-00600-8
BiermannP.BitzerJ.GörenE. (2022). The relationship between age and subjective well-being: Estimating within and between effects simultaneously. The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, 21, Article 100366. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeoa.2021.100366
9.
BlanchflowerD. G. (2021). Is happiness U-shaped everywhere? Age and subjective well-being in 145 countries. Journal of Population Economics, 34(2), 575–624. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00148-020-00797-z
10.
BlanchflowerD. G.GrahamC.PiperA. (2023). Happiness and age—Resolving the debate. National Institute Economic Review, 263, 76–93. https://doi.org/10.1017/nie.2023.1
11.
BrandelM.MelchiorriE.RuiniC. (2018). The dynamics of eudaimonic well-being in the transition to parenthood: Differences between fathers and mothers. Journal of Family Issues, 39(9), 2572–2589. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X18758344
12.
BueckerS.LuhmannM.HaehnerP.BühlerJ. L.DappL. C.LucianoE. C.OrthU. (2023). The development of subjective well-being across the life span: A meta-analytic review of longitudinal studies. Psychological Bulletin, 149(7-8), 418–446. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000401
13.
CarstensenL. L. (1992). Social and emotional patterns in adulthood: Support for socioemotional selectivity theory. Psychology and Aging, 7(3), 331–338. https://doi.org/10.1037/0882-7974.7.3.331
14.
ChaudryA. (2004). Putting children first how low-wage working mothers manage child care. RSF: Russell Sage Foundation United States of America.
15.
ChiaR. C.MooreJ. L.LamK. N.ChuangC. J.ChengB. S. (1994). Cultural differences in gender role attitudes between Chinese and American students. Sex Roles, 31(1-2), 23–30. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01560275
16.
ChouK. L.ChiI. (2004). Childlessness and psychological well-being in Chinese older adults. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 19(5), 449–457. https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.1111
17.
CinamonR. G.RichY. (2002). Gender differences in the importance of work and family roles: Implications for work–family conflict. Sex Roles, 47(11-12), 531–541. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022021804846
18.
CundiffJ. M.MatthewsK. A. (2017). Is subjective social status a unique correlate of physical health? A meta-analysis. Health Psychology: Official Journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association, 36(12), 1109–1125. https://doi.org/10.1037/hea0000534
DebatsD. L. (1999). Sources of meaning: An investigation of significant commitments in life. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 39(4), 30–57. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022167899394003
21.
DykstraP. A.KeizerR. (2009). The well-being of childless men and fathers in mid-life. Ageing and Society, 29(8), 1227–1242. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X08008374
22.
EasterlinR. A.SawangfaO. (2010). Happiness and economic growth: Does the cross section predict time trends? Evidence from developing countries. In DienerE.HelliwellJ. F.KahnemanD. (Eds.), International differences in well-being (pp. 166–216): Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199732739.003.0007
23.
EriksonE. H. (1998). The life cycle completed (extended version). WW Norton & Company.
24.
EvensonR. J.SimonR. W. (2005). Clarifying the relationship between parenthood and depression. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 46(4), 341–358. https://doi.org/10.1177/002214650504600403
25.
FreemanA. (2024). Impossible arrangements: The extreme challenge of child care for low‐income mothers. The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 83(5), 971–989. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajes.12562
26.
FrijtersP.BeattonT. (2012). The mystery of the U-shaped relationship between happiness and age. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 82(2-3), 525–542. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2012.03.008
27.
GalinskyE.AumannK.BondJ. T. (2013). Times are changing: Gender and generation at work and at home in the USA. In PoelmansS.GreenhausJ. H.MaestroM. L. H. (Eds.), Expanding the boundaries of work-family research (pp. 279–296). Palgrave Macmillan.
28.
GardnerD. G.CummingsL. L.DunhamR. B.PierceJ. L. (1998). Single-item versus multiple-item measurement scales: An empirical comparison. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 58(6), 898–915. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164498058006003
29.
GiesselmannM.HagenM.SchunckR. (2018). Motherhood and mental well-being in Germany: Linking a longitudinal life course design and the gender perspective on motherhood. Advances in Life Course Research, 37, 31–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.alcr.2018.06.002
30.
GjerdingenD. K.CenterB. A. (2005). First-time parents' postpartum changes in employment, childcare, and housework responsibilities. Social Science Research, 34(1), 103–116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2003.11.005
31.
GrahamM. (2015). Is being childless detrimental to a woman’s health and well-being across her life course?Women’s Health Issues, 25(2), 176–184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.whi.2014.12.002
32.
GrahamC.PozueloJ. R. (2017). Happiness, stress, and age: How the U curve varies across people and places. Journal of Population Economics, 30(1), 225–264. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00148-016-0611-2
33.
GuX. (2021). Parenting for success: The value of children and intensive parenting in post-reform China. Child Indicators Research, 14(2), 555–581. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-020-09746-4
34.
GuoM. (2014). Parental status and late-life well-being in rural China: The benefits of having multiple children. Aging & Mental Health, 18(1), 19–29. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2013.799117
35.
GuoQ. (2023). How people’s concepts of marriage, childbearing, childrearing, and child education affect their fertility willingness and behaviour under the three-child policy in China?International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family, 37(1), ebad028. https://doi.org/10.1093/lawfam/ebad028
36.
HansenT. (2021). Childlessness and psychological well-being in midlife and old age. In MagginoF. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of quality of life and well-being research: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69909-7_3710-2
37.
HansenT.BlekesauneM. (2022). The age and well-being “paradox”: A longitudinal and multidimensional reconsideration. European Journal of Ageing, 19(4), 1277–1286. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-022-00709-y
38.
HansenT.SlagsvoldB.MoumT. (2009). Childlessness and psychological well-being in midlife and old age: An examination of parental status effects across a range of outcomes. Social Indicators Research, 94(2), 343–362. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-008-9426-1
HuX.DuJ.XuZ.HeL. (2023). From the second child policy to the open third child: Why does China's fertility rate keep falling. International Journal of Education and Humanities, 9(1), 40–42. https://doi.org/10.54097/ijeh.v9i1.9152
41.
HuangS.HouJ.SunL.DouD.LiuX.ZhangH. (2017). The effects of objective and subjective socioeconomic status on subjective well-being among rural-to-urban migrants in China: The moderating role of subjective social mobility. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 819. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00819
42.
HuangY.LiY.ClarkW. A. V. (2024). Family connections and subjective wellbeing in transitional China. Journal of Happiness Studies, 25(4), 33. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-024-00744-9
43.
KassenboehmerS. C.Haisken-DeNewJ. P. (2012). Heresy or enlightenment? The well-being age U-shape effect is flat. Economics Letters, 117(1), 235–238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2012.05.013
44.
KeizerR.DykstraP. A.PoortmanA. R. (2009). The life outcomes of childless men and fathers. European Sociological Review, 26(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcn080
45.
KeizerR.DykstraP. A.PoortmanA. R. (2010). The transition to parenthood and well-being: The impact of partner status and work hour transitions. Journal of Family Psychology, 24(4), 429–438. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0020414
46.
KenrickD. T.GriskeviciusV.NeubergS. L.SchallerM. (2010). Renovating the pyramid of needs: Contemporary extensions built upon ancient foundations. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 5(3), 292–314. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691610369469
47.
KezerM.CemalcilarZ. (2020). A comprehensive investigation of associations of objective and subjective socioeconomic status with perceived health and subjective well-being. International Review of Social Psychology, 33(1), 10. https://doi.org/10.5334/irsp.364
48.
KingL. A.HicksJ. A.KrullJ. L.Del GaisoA. K. (2006). Positive affect and the experience of meaning in life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90(1), 179–196. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.90.1.179
49.
Koropeckyj-CoxT. (1998). Loneliness and depression in middle and old age: Are childless more vulnerable?Journal of Gerontology, 53B(6), S303–S311. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/53B.6.S303
50.
KotelchuckM. (2022). The impact of fatherhood on men’s health and development. In GrauM. G.las Heras MaestroM.BowlesH. R. (Eds.), Engaged fatherhood for men, families and gender equality (pp. 63–91): Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-75645-1_4
51.
KrausM.PiffP.Mendoza-DentonR.SameM.KeltnerD. (2012). Social class, solipsism, and contextualism: How the rich are different from the poor. Psychological Review, 119(3), 546–572. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028756
52.
KuipersY. J.van BeeckE.CijsouwA.van GilsY. (2021). The impact of motherhood on the course of women's psychological wellbeing.Journal of Affective Disorders Reports, 6, Article 100216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadr.2021.100216
53.
LomazziV.SeddigD. (2020). Gender role attitudes in the international social survey programme: Cross national comparability and relationships to cultural values. Cross-Cultural Research, 54(4), 398–431. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069397120915454
54.
LorantV.DeliègeD.EatonW.RobertA.PhilippotP.AnsseauM. (2003). Socioeconomic inequalities in depression: A meta-analysis. American Journal of Epidemiology, 157(2), 98–112. https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwf182
55.
MetzgerS.GraciaP. (2023). Gender differences in mental health following the transition into parenthood: Longitudinal evidence from the UK. Advances in Life Course Research, 56, Article 100550. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.alcr.2023.100550
56.
MichelsonN.RiisJ. L.JohnsonS. B. (2016). Subjective social status and psychological distress in mothers of young children. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 20(10), 2019–2029. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-016-2027-8
57.
MorseJ. L.StegerM. F. (2019). Giving birth to meaning: Understanding parenthood through the psychology of meaning in life. In Taubman – Ben-AriO. (Ed.), Pathways and barriers to parenthood: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24864-2_1
58.
MusickK.BeaM. D.Gonalons-PonsP. (2020). His and her earnings following parenthood in the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom. American Sociological Review, 85(4), 639–674. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122420934430
59.
MusickK.MeierA.FloodS. (2016). How parents fare: Mothers’ and fathers’ subjective well-being in time with children. American Sociological Review, 81(5), 1069–1095. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122416663917
60.
NelsonS. K.KushlevK.EnglishT.DunnE. W.LyubomirskyS. (2013). In defense of parenthood: Children are associated with more joy than misery. Psychological Science, 24(1), 3–10. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797612447798
61.
NelsonS. K.KushlevK.LyubomirskyS. (2014). The pains and pleasures of parenting: When, why, and how is parenthood associated with more or less well-being?Psychological Bulletin, 140(3), 846–895. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0035444
62.
Nelson-CoffeyS. K.KillingsworthM.LayousK.ColeS. W.LyubomirskyS. (2019). Parenthood is associated with greater well-being for fathers than mothers. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 45(9), 1378–1390. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167219829174
63.
NomaguchiK.MilkieM. A. (2020). Parenthood and well‐being: A decade in review. Journal of Marriage and Family, 82(1), 198–223. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12646
64.
OfferS.SchneiderB. (2011). Revisiting the gender gap in time-use patterns: Multitasking and well-being among mothers and fathers in dual-earner families. American Sociological Review, 76(6), 809–833. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122411425170
65.
OshioT.ShimizutaniS. (2024). Well-being paradox: Comparing the age-happiness relationship across Japan, China, and the US. The Japanese Economic Review, 75(4), 547–562. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42973-024-00169-2
66.
PenningM. J.WuZ.HouF. (2024). Childlessness and social and emotional loneliness in middle and later life. Ageing and Society, 44(7), 1551–1578. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X22000824
67.
PinquartM.SörensenS. (2000). Influences of socioeconomic status, social network, and competence on subjective well-being in later life: A meta-analysis. Psychology and Aging, 15(2), 187–224. https://doi.org/10.1037/0882-7974.15.2.187
68.
Pollmann‐SchultM. (2014). Parenthood and life satisfaction: Why don't children make people happy?Journal of Marriage and Family, 76(2), 319–336. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12095
69.
Pollmann-SchultM. (2018). Parenthood and life satisfaction in Europe: The role of family policies and working time flexibility. European Journal of Population, 34(3), 387–411. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10680-017-9433-5
70.
PrägP.MillsM. C.WittekR. (2016). Subjective socioeconomic status and health in cross-national comparison. Social Science & Medicine, 149, 84–92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.11.044
71.
RothrauffT.CooneyT. M. (2008). The role of generativity in psychological well-being: Does it differ for childless adults and parents?Journal of Adult Development, 15(3-4), 148–159. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10804-008-9046-7
72.
RuppannerL.PeralesF.BaxterJ. (2019). Harried and unhealthy? Parenthood, time pressure, and mental health. Journal of Marriage and Family, 81(2), 308–326. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12531
73.
SaxbeD.Rossin-SlaterM.GoldenbergD. (2018). The transition to parenthood as a critical window for adult health. American Psychologist, 73(9), 1190–1200. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000376
74.
SchmittD. P.LongA. E.McPhearsonA.O’BrienK.RemmertB.ShahS. H. (2017). Personality and gender differences in global perspective. International Journal of Psychology, 52(S1), 45–56. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijop.12265
75.
SchnellT. (2009). The sources of meaning and meaning in life questionnaire (SoMe): Relations to demographics and well-being. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 4(6), 483–499. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760903271074
76.
SchwartzS. H.RubelT. (2005). Sex differences in value priorities: Cross-cultural and multimethod studies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89(6), 1010–1028. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.89.6.1010
77.
ShiX.ShenY. (2023). Mental health penalties of having a child: Findings from the China family panel studies. NPJ Mental Health Research, 2(1), Article 7. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44184-023-00026-x
78.
ShuX.ZhuY. (2012). Uneven transitions: Cohort- and period-related changes in gender attitudes in China: 1995-2007. Social Science Research, 41(5), 1100–1115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2012.05.004
79.
StackS.EshlemanJ. R. (1998). Marital status and happiness: A 17-nation study. Journal of Marriage and Family, 60(2), 527–536. https://doi.org/10.2307/353867
80.
SuurmondR.van RheeH.HakT. (2017). Introduction, comparison and validation of meta-essentials: A free and simple tool for meta-analysis. Research Synthesis Methods, 8(4), 537–553. https://doi.org/10.1002/jrsm.1260
81.
TanJ. J. X.KrausM. W.CarpenterN. C.AdlerN. E. (2020). The association between objective and subjective socioeconomic status and subjective well-being: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 146(11), 970–1020. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000258
82.
TolkampM.Pollmann-SchultM. (2024). Subjective well-being of parents and childless people in older age in Germany. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 19(6), 3335–3356. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-024-10376-z
83.
TriandisH. C.GelfandM. J. (1998). Converging measurement of horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74(1), 118–128. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.74.1.118
84.
TwengeJ. M.CampbellW. K.FosterC. A. (2003). Parenthood and marital satisfaction: A meta‐analytic review. Journal of Marriage and Family, 65(3), 574–583. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2003.00574.x
85.
VerkroostF. C. (2022). A Bayesian multivariate hierarchical growth curve model to examine cumulative socio-economic (Dis) advantage among childless adults and parents. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society - Series A: Statistics in Society, 185(4), 2234–2276. https://doi.org/10.1111/rssa.12917
86.
WangH.FidrmucJ.LuoQ. (2020). Grandparenting and well-being of the elderly in China. SSRN Electronic Journal, 44(12), Article 3694775. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3694775
87.
WuZ.PenningM. J. (2019). Children and the mental health of older adults in China: What matters?Population Research and Policy Review, 38(1), 27–52. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11113-018-9495-z
88.
XiaY. R.WangH.DoA.QinS. (2014). Family policy in China: A snapshot of 1950–2010. In RobilaM. (Ed.), Handbook of family policies across the globe (pp. 257–272): Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6771-7_17
89.
XuA.XiaY. (2014). The changes in mainland Chinese families during the social transition: A critical analysis. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 45(1), 31–53. https://doi.org/10.3138/jcfs.45.1.31
90.
YavorskyJ. E.DushC. M. K.Schoppe-SullivanS. J. (2015). The production of inequality: The gender division of labor across the transition to parenthood. Journal of Marriage and Family, 77(3), 662–679. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12189
91.
ZhangF.WuY. (2021). Living with grandparents: Multi-generational families and the academic performance of grandchildren in China. Chinese Journal of Sociology, 7(3), 413–443. https://doi.org/10.1177/2057150X211028357
92.
ZhangW.LiuG. (2007). Childlessness, psychological well-being, and life satisfaction among the elderly in China. Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, 22(2), 185–203. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10823-007-9037-3
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
