Parental Well-being Surrounding First Birth as a Determinant of Further Parity Progression.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Longitudinal cohort study graded by design analogy for demographic research.
PubMed 26238935 · doi:10.1007/s13524-015-0413-2
What was done
The authors analyzed longitudinal cohort data from Germany to examine whether changes in subjective well-being during the transition to parenthood predict subsequent parity progression, and whether this relationship varies by parental age and education.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical values, effect estimates, or confidence intervals. It qualitatively reports that a decline in subjective well-being surrounding the birth of a first child is associated with a decreased probability of having another child, with the strongest association seen in older and higher-educated parents.
Why it matters
This study highlights the subjective experience of initial parenthood as an important factor influencing completed family size in developed countries. It suggests that policies supporting the well-being of new parents could play a role in addressing low fertility rates.
Limits
The abstract provides no sample size, effect sizes, or confidence intervals. The study is observational, based on data from a single country (Germany), and cannot rule out unmeasured confounding or necessarily generalize to settings with different parental leave and childcare policies.
Cited by
- supports Women in developed countries with low social support experience a short-term hit to happiness during early childhood before it rises in the long run.