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Marriage and childbirth improves wellbeing, study shows Credits: Social Media
By Jake Foster

Marriage and childbirth improves wellbeing, study shows

By Jake Foster

A new study suggests marriage and childbirth can improve our mental wellbeing, but does not lead to long-lasting happiness.

Given the current state of events in the world, it is understandable that the mental health and wellbeing of many is on the decline.

Luckily, we now understand more about what affects our wellbeing than ever before.

Researchers from the University of Technology Sydney have determined the differing impacts of major life events on our mental wellbeing and long-term happiness.

Eighteen major life events were analysed, including marriage, childbirth, divorce and moving house.

The study, which sampled 14,000 Australians between 2002 and 2016, examined the socioeconomic and health conditions of Australian households.

Questionnaires and face-to-face interviews then determined the personal wellbeing and happiness of the sample group.

Two types of wellbeing were established: ‘affective’ and ‘cognitive’.

Affective wellbeing is a measure of emotion and pleasure in the moment, whereas cognitive wellbeing is a more reflective self-evaluation of life satisfaction.

For example, riding a roller-coaster may increase affective wellbeing by providing pleasure. However, it does little for cognitive wellbeing and overall life satisfaction.

Conversely, caring for an ill relative won’t provide much pleasure in the moment. However, it will boost your cognitive wellbeing through feelings of pride and satisfaction later on.

Marriage, childbirth and money

Marriage, childbirth and a major monetary gain caused the greatest increase in wellbeing overall. However, the positive effect was only temporary and usually wore off after two years.

The build-up to these events also has an effect. Lead researcher Dr Nathan Kettlewell writes: “There was also an anticipatory effect for marriage and childbirth, with wellbeing increasing prior to these events.”

Pregnancy and childbirth saw the largest gaps between affective and cognitive wellbeing. While feelings of life satisfaction increased in the first year following childbirth, day-to-day happiness and emotional pleasure actually declined.

Marriage and retirement both had positive effects on cognitive wellbeing, but the net positive effect on affective wellbeing was zero.

This implies that while these events don’t improve wellbeing in the moment, a longer-lasting feeling of life satisfaction can occur.

Loss, separation and health scares

Unsurprisingly, the life events that upset or shock us are the most detrimental to our wellbeing. The silver lining may be that the damage caused can recover with time, Dr Kettlewell says.

“The life events that saw the deepest plunge in wellbeing were the death of a partner or child, separation, a large financial loss or a health shock.

“But even for these negative experiences, on average people recovered to their pre-shock level of wellbeing by around four years.”

How to boost your wellbeing

It is clear that major life events will impact our wellbeing for better or for worse. This research may one day help governments and policy-makers to improve the wellbeing and happiness of society.

Dr Kettlewell’s advice to individuals is to protect themselves from shock and trust that time heals most wounds.

“While chasing after happiness may be misplaced, the results suggest that the best chances for enhancing wellbeing may lie in protecting against negative shocks, for example by establishing strong relationships, investing in good health and managing financial risks.”

“And we can take consolation from the fact that, although it takes time, wellbeing can recover from even the worst circumstances.”

In a time where morale is at its lowest, it is reassuring to know that our wellbeing will recover.