Parenthood in Europe: Not More Life Satisfaction, but More Meaning in Life

IF 3.4 1区社会学 Q1 FAMILY STUDIES

Journal of Marriage and Family Pub Date : 2025-05-19 DOI:10.1111/jomf.13116

Ansgar Hudde, Marita Jacob

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Abstract

Objective

This study contrasts the associations between parenthood and two central components of subjective well-being: life satisfaction and meaning in life.

Background

Theoretical arguments and previous research based on qualitative analyses suggest that parenthood might lower life satisfaction but increase meaning in life. This study provides the first test of this idea based on a large-scale, multicountry analysis, considering heterogeneity in the link between parenthood and well-being across sociodemographic groups and national contexts.

Methods

The data were sourced from the European Social Survey, with more than 43,000 respondents from 30 countries. Multilevel regression models tested the role of parenthood, proxied by the presence of children in the household, on life satisfaction and meaning in life, with separate analyses conducted for women and men. Additional analyses investigated heterogeneity across sociodemographic groups and country clusters.

Results

The link between parenthood and life satisfaction varied significantly by gender and context, tending to be more negative for parents facing more challenging conditions. Conversely, the analyses revealed a consistent positive link between parenthood and meaning in life for both women and men, regardless of social and national context.

Conclusion

Parenthood is linked to lower life satisfaction for some groups but to higher meaning in life across diverse populations. However, under certain conditions, such as the culture and policy context of the Nordic countries, parenthood is associated with both higher life satisfaction and meaning, two key components of a good life.

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欧洲的为人父母：不是更多的生活满意度，而是更多的生活意义

目的本研究对比了父母身份与主观幸福感的两个主要组成部分：生活满意度和生活意义之间的关系。理论争论和先前基于定性分析的研究表明，为人父母可能会降低生活满意度，但会增加生活的意义。这项研究基于大规模的多国分析对这一观点进行了首次检验，考虑了不同社会人口群体和国家背景下为人父母与幸福感之间联系的异质性。方法数据来源于欧洲社会调查，来自30个国家的43000多名受访者。多层回归模型测试了父母的作用，以家庭中孩子的存在为代表，对生活满意度和生活意义，并对女性和男性进行了单独的分析。其他分析调查了社会人口群体和国家集群之间的异质性。结果父母身份与生活满意度之间的关系因性别和环境而有显著差异，当父母面临更有挑战性的环境时，这种关系往往更消极。相反，分析显示，无论社会和国家背景如何，为人父母与男性和女性的生活意义之间都存在一致的积极联系。结论：为人父母与某些群体的生活满意度较低有关，但与不同人群的生活意义较高有关。然而，在某些条件下，如北欧国家的文化和政策背景下，为人父母与更高的生活满意度和意义有关，这是美好生活的两个关键组成部分。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of Marriage and Family Multiple-

CiteScore

12.20

自引率

6.70%

发文量

期刊介绍： For more than 70 years, Journal of Marriage and Family (JMF) has been a leading research journal in the family field. JMF features original research and theory, research interpretation and reviews, and critical discussion concerning all aspects of marriage, other forms of close relationships, and families.In 2009, an institutional subscription to Journal of Marriage and Family includes a subscription to Family Relations and Journal of Family Theory & Review.