Family = Happiness? Types, Commitment and Multidimensional Wellbeing

The relationship between family and happiness has long been studied, often relying on simple characterizations of family types on one side of the equation and using only one or two measures of wellbeing on the other side. In this paper we articulate both the complexity of family types and the different dimensions of subjective wellbeing. We test whether different family types — single, cohabiting, and married — and different dimensions of family commitment — the presence of children and religious observance — are associated with differences in multiple measures of subjective wellbeing relative to economic conditions, health, family relations, friendships, leisure time, and work, using Italian data from 1993 to 2023. Our findings, complemented by an instrumental variable analysis that addresses selection into family types, show that family commitment — particularly marriage and religious observance — may reflect a causal association with higher satisfaction in health, work, and social connectedness, at the cost of reduced satisfaction with leisure. Parenthood further strengthens health and friendship satisfaction but introduces additional costs in economic and leisure satisfaction that vary across family types.