Parenthood and Happiness: Effects of Work-Family Reconciliation Policies in 22 OECD Countries
Parenthood and Happiness: Effects of Work-Family Reconciliation Policies in 22 OECD Countries
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DOI：
10.1086/688892
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发表时间：
2016-11-01
影响因子：
4.4
通讯作者：
Andersson, Matthew A.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Glass, Jennifer;Simon, Robin W.;Andersson, Matthew A.
最近关于为人父母和幸福之间关系的跨国差异的研究激增，揭示了越来越多的证据表明，在大多数发达的工业化社会中，父母的幸福感水平低于非父母。作者将育儿视为由制度支持缓冲的压力源，并假设在为家庭提供更多资源和支持的国家，父母在幸福感方面的差异较小。对欧洲社会调查和国际社会调查方案的分析显示，各国在为人父母的幸福感方面存在很大差异，美国在为人父母方面表现出最大的劣势。作者发现，更慷慨的家庭政策，特别是带薪休假和育儿补贴，与父母和非父母之间的幸福感差距较小有关。此外，增加父母幸福感的政策不会减少非父母的幸福感。这些结果揭示了情绪过程的宏观原因，对公共政策具有重要意义。
The recent proliferation of studies examining cross-national variation in the association between parenthood and happiness reveal accumulating evidence of lower levels of happiness among parents than nonparents in most advanced industrialized societies. Conceptualizing parenting as a stressor buffered by institutional support, the authors hypothesize that parental status differences in happiness are smaller in countries providing more resources and support to families. Analyses of the European Social Surveys and International Social Survey Programme reveal considerable variation in the parenthood gap in happiness across countries, with the United States showing the largest disadvantage of parenthood. The authors found that more generous family policies, particularly paid time off and child-care subsidies, are associated with smaller disparities in happiness between parents and nonparents. Moreover, the policies that augment parental happiness do not reduce the happiness of nonparents. These results shed light on macrolevel causes of emotional processes, with important implications for public policy.