UBC Study Parents Vs Childless

New research suggests that parents may be happier than childless couples, despite the conventional wisdom that people with children are unhappy, stressed out and exhausted from late-night feedings and early-morning hockey practices.
A forthcoming paper from psychologists at the University of B.C. Stanford, and the University of California shows parents experience greater levels of happiness and meaning than non-parents and parents derive more joy from child care than other daily tasks. The paper, In Defense of Parenthood: Children Are Associated With More Joy Than Misery, combines three different studies, one from each school, and will be published in the journal Psychological Science this year.

“We were surprised by our findings,” said Elizabeth Dunn, a UBC psychology professor and co-author of the study. “The impression many of us have now from media and academic research is that parenting seems to be this rather negative experience.”

But new parents report that things do change after baby.“We were this happy, carefree couple,” said Raj Sharma, 35. He and wife Jasmeen Gill, 30, have a seven-week-old infant. “Now we have a kid so there’s a whole new set of considerations.”

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