Did the difference in happiness by having children change between 2000-2018?
Many previous studies examined the association between parenthood and subjective well-being (SWB) and showed that parenting hurt SWB. However, most studies used data from Western countries, and the studies focused on Asian countries are limited. In addition, few empirical studies examined how the impact of parenthood varies over time. In this study, we used the Japanese General Social Survey (JGSS) to examine changes in time trends in the SWB of married people with and without children from 2000 to 2018. The results of this study provide three findings. First, in all age groups, the time trend of happiness in married women does not change depending on the presence of children. However, under 50 years old, the time trend of happiness in married women with children relatively declines. In the case of married men, there is no change in the difference in the time trend of happiness depending on the presence of children in any age group. Second, although there is no change in the time trend of happiness among working married women depending on the presence of children, the time trend of happiness decreases relatively for non-employed married women under 50 with children. Third, the differences in the time trend of satisfaction measures other than happiness does not change with the presence of children for married men and women.
