The Cost of Uncertainty? Life Satisfaction after the Transition to Parenthood following Uncertain Fertility Expectations

Katya Ivanova , Tilburg University

Research on unintended or unplanned pregnancies has long highlighted the adverse consequences such events can have for adults and children. In contrast, this study shifts attention from unintended fertility to fertility expectations - individuals’ prospective views about whether they will have children in the future - and examines how such expectations relate to life satisfaction following the transition to parenthood. Using prospective data from the Dutch Longitudinal Internet Studies for the Social Sciences (LISS) panel, the analyses focus on respondents who were childless at panel entry but subsequently became parents. Fertility expectations were measured at the initial observation, while life satisfaction was assessed both at baseline and in the year of transition to parenthood. A conditional change score model estimates whether the change in life satisfaction differs by fertility expectations, net of partnership status, age, education, income satisfaction, personality traits, and time to transition. Preliminary results indicate that respondents with positive fertility expectations experience a significant increase in life satisfaction after becoming parents, whereas those with negative or uncertain expectations do not experience any change. These findings suggest that generalized expectations about one’s future life course, reported well before parenthood, can shape how individuals experience major life transitions. Ongoing analyses will test the robustness of these associations by accounting for selection into parenthood.

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 Presented in Session P2. Families, Fertility, and the Life Course 2