Associations of household structure and presence of children in the household with mental distress during the early stages of the U.S. COVID-19 pandemic

PURPOSE

The objectives of the current study were to (1) assess associations between household structure (i.e., living with spouse compared to living alone, with children, or with a spouse and children), presence of children, and mental distress in April 2020 and change in mental distress (between April and August 2020); and (2) determine whether these associations are moderated by income or sex.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 2,214 adults aged 25-55 from the April and August 2020 waves of the Understanding America study were included in the analytic sample.

STUDY METHOD

Multivariable, survey-weighted linear regression models were used to examine associations between explanatory variables (i.e., household structure and number of children) and outcome variables (mental distress in April and change in mental distress), measured via the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-4.

RESULTS

In adjusted models, each additional child under the age of 12 was associated with lower mental distress in April 2020 (β = -.30, p = .002). Having children aged 13 to 18 and household structure were not significantly associated with mental distress. In interaction models, living with children only was associated with decreased mental distress among individuals reporting low income (interaction β = -1.28, p = .016) but not high income. Similarly, living with children only was associated with decreased mental distress in females (interaction β = -1.09, p = .025) but not males.

CONCLUSION

This study supports prior literature that demonstrates the positive association of child rearing with psychological well-being and suggests that these benefits may be present even under stay-at-home orders in the early stages of the U.S. COVID-19 pandemic. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Human Motives, Happiness, and the Puzzle of Parenthood: Commentary on Kenrick et al. (2010)

It is presumed that happiness, and its associated positive emotions, signal to the individual that an adaptive problem has been solved, thus allowing her to shift attention to other concerns, perhaps those "higher" on the revised motivational hierarchy proposed by Kenrick et al (2010, this issue). In this commentary, we present a sampling of longitudinal and experimental evidence supporting two predictions: (a) that people will feel happy after realizing fundamental human motives, and (b) that in turn, the experience of happiness will galvanize people to fulfill these very motives. However, one conspicuous exception to our argument that happiness is both a consequence and a stimulus of human motives is parenthood, which paradoxically is associated with decrements in well-being. Two broad sets of explanations to account for this puzzle are discussed. The first involves evolutionary accounts: that children interfere with lower level needs, that short-term costs of having children are outweighed by long-term benefits, and that the modern-day context of raising children is at odds with our ancestors' environments. The second possibility involves measurement: namely, problems with study designs and the difficulty of capturing on paper or computer screen what is precisely so wonderful and elusive that children grant their parents.