Until recently, most research has shown that those without children are more satisfied in life than those who have them. Several new studies have concluded, however, that data may not be completely accurate anymore.
Princeton University and Stony Brook University published a report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science that found “very little difference” between the happiness of parents and people without children. This was concluded after factors such as income, education, religion and health were taken out. According to one of the report’s co-authors, Arthur Stone, happiness among those with kids and those without can be summed up by individual priorities, specifically whether a person chooses to have kids.
“I choose an orange because I like oranges. You choose an apple because you like apples. There’s no reason to think that your experiences should be any better than mine,” said Stone. “The orange is different than the apples. Having kids is different than not having kids. It doesn’t mean that one is … intrinsically better.”
The Princeton-Stony Brook study involved a survey of 1.8 million Americans including parents between the ages of 34 and 46 conducted by Gallup from 2008 through 2012. One difference they did find is that parents tend to experience more highs than lows. Adina McGinley, a New York mother of three, cites watching children grow as “life’s greatest joy,” but notes that “stress over wanting your kids to have good lives can be tapped into at any time, sometimes to an awful degree and this adds endless strain to marriage.”
A study by the Open University in England, which involved surveys of over 5,000 people in England and the United States, showed that the strain McGinley speaks of can lead parents to feel less satisfied in their relationship. Data concluded that childless couples were happier and doing more work on their relationships than couples with children.
Open University study co-author, Dr. Jacqui Gabb, and parenting and lifestyle blogger, Jen Bosse, agreed that it’s the shift of focus and time from the relationship to the children that makes the difference, not the children, themselves.
“It just means there is a difference in emphasis and probably partly due to the time pinch,” Gabb added. “There just isn’t as much time to devote to the relationship.”
Read more surrounding the studies on CNN.
BMWK–What are your thoughts on these studies and their results? Do you feel you are–or could be–happier with or without kids? What factors would you include?