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Work–Family Conflict Moderates the Relationship Between Childbearing and Subjective Well-Being

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  • Anna Matysiak

    (Vienna Institute of Demography, Austrian Academy of Sciences)

  • Letizia Mencarini

    (Bocconi University)

  • Daniele Vignoli

    (University of Florence)

Abstract

Many empirical studies find that parents are not as happy as non-parents or that parenthood exerts a negative effect on subjective well-being (SWB). We add to these findings by arguing that there is a key moderating factor that has been overlooked in previous research, i.e. the level of work–family conflict. We hypothesize that the birth of a child means an increase in the level of work–family tension, which may be substantial for some parents and relatively weak for others. To outline such an approach, we estimate fixed-effects models using panel data from the Household, Income and Labor Dynamics in Australia survey. We find that childbearing negatively affects SWB only when parents, mothers in particular, face a substantial work–family conflict, providing thus support for our hypothesis.

Suggested Citation

  • Anna Matysiak & Letizia Mencarini & Daniele Vignoli, 2016. "Work–Family Conflict Moderates the Relationship Between Childbearing and Subjective Well-Being," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 32(3), pages 355-379, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:eurpop:v:32:y:2016:i:3:d:10.1007_s10680-016-9390-4
    DOI: 10.1007/s10680-016-9390-4
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    Cited by:

    1. Daniele Vignli & Letizia Mencarini & Giammarco Alderotti, 2018. "Is the Impact of Employment Uncertainty on Fertility Intentions Channeled by Subjective Well-Being?," Working Papers 114, "Carlo F. Dondena" Centre for Research on Social Dynamics (DONDENA), Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi.
    2. Arnstein Aassve & Francesca Luppi & Letizia Mencarini, 2021. "A first glance into the black box of life satisfaction surrounding childbearing," Journal of Population Research, Springer, vol. 38(3), pages 307-338, September.
    3. Marco Le Moglie & Letizia Mencarini & Chiara Rapallini, 2017. "Do Rich Parents Enjoy Children Less?," Working Papers - Economics wp2017_08.rdf, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Scienze per l'Economia e l'Impresa.
    4. Jona Schellekens, 2019. "Does the association between children and happiness vary by level of religiosity? The evidence from Israel," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 41(5), pages 103-124.
    5. Bruno Arpino & Francesca Luppi, 2020. "Childcare arrangements and working mothers’ satisfaction with work‒family balance," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 42(19), pages 549-588.
    6. Doris Hanappi & Oliver Lipps, 2019. "Job insecurity and parental well-being: The role of parenthood and family factors," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 40(31), pages 897-932.
    7. Manuela Stranges & Daniele Vignoli & Alessandra Venturini, 2019. "“Comparison is the thief of joy”. Does social comparison affect migrants’ subjective well-being?," Discussion Papers 53, Central European Labour Studies Institute (CELSI).
    8. Giulia M. Dotti Sani, 2022. "The Intrinsic Value of Childcare: Positive Returns of Childcare Time on Parents’ Well-Being and Life Satisfaction in Italy," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 23(5), pages 1901-1921, June.
    9. Manuela Stranges & Daniele Vignoli & Alessandra Venturini, 2019. ""Comparison is the thief of joy". Does social comparison affect migrants’ subjective well-being?," Econometrics Working Papers Archive 2019_03, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Statistica, Informatica, Applicazioni "G. Parenti".
    10. Arnstein Aassve & Francesca Luppi & Letizia Mencarini, 2018. "Unlocking the black box of life satisfaction surrounding childbearing," Working Papers 120, "Carlo F. Dondena" Centre for Research on Social Dynamics (DONDENA), Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi.
    11. Siobhan Austen & Jaslin Kalsi & Astghik Mavisakalyan, 2023. "Parenthood and the distribution of intra-household inequalities in wellbeing," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 21(2), pages 405-440, June.
    12. Francesca Luppi & Letizia Mencarini, 2018. "Parents’ subjective well-being after their first child and declining fertility expectations," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 39(9), pages 285-314.
    13. Laritza Machín-Rincón & Eva Cifre & Pilar Domínguez-Castillo & Mónica Segovia-Pérez, 2020. "I Am a Leader, I Am a Mother, I Can Do This! The Moderated Mediation of Psychological Capital, Work–Family Conflict, and Having Children on Well-Being of Women Leaders," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-22, March.
    14. Yu, Shuye & Postepska, Agnieszka, 2020. "Flexible Jobs Make Parents Happier: Evidence from Australia," IZA Discussion Papers 13700, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. Matthias Pollmann-Schult, 2018. "Parenthood and Life Satisfaction in Europe: The Role of Family Policies and Working Time Flexibility," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 34(3), pages 387-411, August.

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