Ia. Connidis et Ja. Mcmullin, TO HAVE OR HAVE NOT - PARENT STATUS AND THE SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING OF OLDER MEN AND WOMEN, The Gerontologist, 33(5), 1993, pp. 630-636
Data from a multi-stage quota sample of adults aged 55 and over were u
sed to examine the effect of parent status on three measures of subjec
tive well-being - avowed happiness, depression, and satisfaction with
life. Unlike other studies, we employed four categories of parent stat
us: close parents, distant parents, those who chose not to have childr
en, and those who are childless by circumstance. We found significant
differences in subjective well-being between close parents and distant
parents, and between close parents and the childless by circumstance
but not the childless by choice. We also found important differences,
by gender, in which factors predict subjective well-being.