Is parenthood associated with mental health?

Abstract

Parenthood is positively associated with mental health, particularly for men. Most differences can be found for depressive and substance use disorders. Partnership seems especially important for parents since it does not affect prevalence rates of mental disorders among non-parents.

Childlessness and Psychological Well-Being in Midlife and Old Age: An Examination of Parental Status Effects Across a Range of Outcomes

“…The reviewed US literature indicates that raising children can foster psychological distress and lower life satisfaction, whereas our research and other recent Nordic studies show no effect on psychological distress and a positive (for women) effect of parenthood on cognitive well-being (Bergman and Daukantaite 2006;Daukantaite and Zukauskiene 2006;Helbig et al 2006;Kohler et al 2005). Our finding that parenthood has no impact on psychological distress, not even among (unmarried) parents (mothers) with residential children, may suggest that family friendly policies in the Nordic countries help people cope with the stresses of combining parenthood, marriage, and employment.…”

“…They all show that parents with children in the home report more depressive symptoms than empty nest parents. In Northern European studies, the presence of dependent children (compared to not having children) is linked with less depression among men and either has a less beneficial effect (in Germany) (Helbig et al 2006) or a detrimental effect on depression among women (in Finnish data from 1986) (Savolainen et al 2001). US and European studies agree that dependent children have more adverse consequences for depression among women and unmarried persons (Evenson and Simon 2005;Helbig et al 2006;McLanahan and Adams 1987;Savolainen et al 2001).…”

Gender Differences in the Relationship Between Household Position and Health in Twelve European Countries: Are They Associated with the Value Climate?

“…However, beyond either pure biological effects in the case of women or variable health stages in men (from a sense of exclusion during pregnancy to improvements once they feel more involved in tasks of caring for the baby; Bartlett 2004), the health effects of children may be strongly shaped by gender roles reflecting the macro environment in terms of the welfare state and the cultural norms, the economic environment, as well as individual characteristics. For instance, children show generally a positive influence on women's health, specifically on mental health (Wang 2004;Helbig et al 2006). Nevertheless, negative effects have also been observed in diverse countries such as Sweden or Spain in relation to an overload of childcare work (Artazcoz et al 2001;Floderus et al 2008).…”

The Contextual and Household Contribution to Individual Health Status in Germany: What Is the Role of Gender and Migration Background?

“…It has to be assumed that the living arrangements have an additional, but separate effect on health outcomes (Joung et al 1994). While living alone is associated with health risks (Manderbacka et al 2014;Cramer 1993), both partnership and parenthood are protective factors for health (Helbig et al 2006;Koskinen et al 2007;Zunzunegui et al 2001;Kravdal et al 2012).…”