Research: children give people more meaning in life, but don't make them happier

Scientists from the University of Cologne (Germany) found that parenthood is associated with lower levels of life satisfaction, but gives life greater meaning.

As reported by BAKU.WS, the results of their research were published in the Journal of Marriage and Family.

The sociologists' analysis is based on data from more than 43,000 participants from 30 countries, regularly surveyed as part of the European Social Survey. Respondents, both with and without children, evaluated their current life satisfaction and how valuable and meaningful they consider what they do.

Another unexpected finding: life satisfaction among parents and childless people varies depending on gender and socioeconomic status. For example, having children may make low-income women less happy. At the same time, among people with higher income levels, the differences are minimal, regardless of gender.

It was also found that favorable social conditions allow parents to be both happier and experience greater meaning in life. Thus, children have a positive impact on both main components, which is especially noticeable in Northern Europe.

The effect of parenthood is evident not only when comparing people with and without children, but also when analyzing changes before and after the birth of a child. Thus, life satisfaction increases with the birth of the first baby, but then quickly decreases. At the same time, the sense of meaning in life remains consistently elevated.