According to a recent article appearing in The Washington Post, found that adults with children tend to be unhappier than those without. This can be for a number of reasons, but one of the most apparent is that parents often lose sight of themselves and their own interests, hobbies and desires in life because they focus so much of their time, effort and energies on raising their children. Adults who don’t have children are free to continue to pursue their own interests and lifestyle.
Just as we’re taking down the tree, organizing the new toys and stepping onto the scale comes a study finding that may make us wonder why we do it all: Parents are more likely to be depressed than people who do not have children.
Published last month in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, the study of 13,000 U.S. adults found that parents, from those with young children to empty nesters, reported being more miserable than non-parents. The researchers analyzed data from a national survey of families and households that asked respondents how many times in the past week, for example, they felt sad, distracted or depressed.
Unlike earlier studies, this one found moms and dads equally unhappy.
So: After all the sleepless nights and drowsy mornings, the cycles of feeding and throwing up, the American Girl doll accessories bought on credit, the toothpick models of the solar system and the algebra tutors . . . we would have been happier without it all?
Dr. John Grohol is the CEO and founder of Psych Central. He is an author, researcher and expert in mental health online, and has been writing about online behavior, mental health and psychology issues -- as well as the intersection of technology and human behavior -- since 1992. Dr. Grohol sits on the editorial board of the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking and is a founding board member and treasurer of the Society for Participatory Medicine.Like this author?
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Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 9 Jan 2006
Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.
Grohol, J. (2006). Parenting Got You Down? You’re Not Alone, Says Study. Psych Central. Retrieved on February 14, 2012, from http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2006/01/09/parenting-got-you-down-youre-not-alone-says-study/
