Premium
Pregnancy Intentions and Parents' Psychological Well‐Being
Author(s) -
Su Jessica Houston
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of marriage and family
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.578
H-Index - 159
eISSN - 1741-3737
pISSN - 0022-2445
DOI - 10.1111/j.1741-3737.2012.01006.x
Subject(s) - happiness , extant taxon , pregnancy , psychology , unintended pregnancy , depressive symptoms , fragile families and child wellbeing study , association (psychology) , psychological well being , clinical psychology , developmental psychology , well being , demography , social psychology , psychiatry , anxiety , population , family planning , research methodology , sociology , genetics , evolutionary biology , psychotherapist , biology
Extant research suggests that parents are more depressed than childless adults, yet the role of pregnancy intentions is largely absent from the discussion. Using 2 waves of data from the National Survey of Families and Households ( n = 825 women , n = 889 men), the author found that pregnancy intentions are an important consideration for parents' well‐being. The results suggest that unintended births are associated with increased depressive symptoms among fathers and decreased happiness among mothers. This association persisted even after accounting for union status and measures of depressive symptoms and happiness prior to the birth. The author also investigated the social, psychological, and economic mechanisms that explain this relationship. Self‐efficacy and financial strain partially explain the link between unintended births and poorer well‐being.