Transition to Parenthood: How Does it Affect Men's and Women's Satisfaction in Various Life Domains? A 4-year Longitudinal Examination

Becoming a parent is a major, privotal life course event (Galdiolo& Roskam, 2012). While many people desire having children, research on parenthood and life satisfaction suggests that the emotional benefits of parenthood are outweighed by time, psychosocial stress and financial costs (Polmann-Schult, 2014). It has been suggested that parenthood has a more negative effect on life satisfaction for women as compared to men (Hansen, 2012). The aim of the current study is to extend findings regarding gender and life satisfaction across Transition to parenthood, by looking at changes in satisfaction in various life domains across a 4-year time period.