PDR 37.1 Margolis-COLOR.indd

much of the world is pervaded by strong cultural beliefs that children increase the well-being of parents, and especially women, and these beliefs have bolstered norms about the desirability of having children. even though the taboo against childlessness has decreased in much of europe and north america, levels of childlessness have remained generally low. with few exceptions, however, research on parenthood and well-being has focused on the united States or northern europe, ignoring the rest of the world and neglecting comparative analysis. this article investigates the fertility/happiness association globally and comparatively, using world values Surveys data for 86 countries. our results shed new light on the association between well-being and number of children by showing how the relationship depends strongly on the macro-level context and life-cycle stage. Parenthood changes lives in both positive and negative ways, many of them unexpected by the parents themselves. Having a child deepens joy, strengthens social ties with family and friends (Gallagher and Gerstel 2001; umberson and Gove 1989), and creates new roles for adults that carry rights, responsibilities, and a sense of adulthood (Sieber 1974; Hoffman and manis 1979). Becoming a parent also increases housework (Sanchez and thomson 1997), often decreases relationship quality between parents (Crohan 1996; lavee, Sharlin, and Katz 1996), and can strain psychological well-being (mclanahan and adams 1987; Ross, mirowsky, and Goldsteen 1990; umberson and williams 1999). the relative importance of these countervailing outcomes may depend on the institutional context and individual-level factors. the relationship between subjective well-being and childbearing has been inadequately studied, especially in light of its potential to explain demographic behavior at a time when fertility is a matter of choice for most people in the world (Hobcraft 2006). Some analyses across europe suggest that fertility differences could be partially explained by the compatibility between subjective well-being and number