Childlessness, health, and marital satisfaction

Abstract

Data on the health and well‐being of 2,480 married couples in an urban area‐probability sample suggest that parenthood detracts from the physical and psychological health of husbands and wives, particularly among younger couples. Rates of joint marital satisfaction also were lower for active parents than for former parents and childless couples, regardless of the duration of the marriage and the wife's age and employment status. That parenthood may be detrimental to both health and marital satisfaction is suggested by the finding that former parents were better off than active parents on both indices, though not as well off as childless spouses.