Parenthood and Psychological Well-Being: Clarifying the Role of Child Age and Parent-Child Relationship Quality

A nationally representative random sample of parents participated in a study examining the association between age of children and adult psychological well-being. Parents whose oldest child is under five report higher satisfaction with the parent-child relationship, higher self-esteem, higher self-efficacy, and lower levels of depression than parents whose oldest child is school-aged or an adolescent.