Personal Meaning of a Child for an Adult as a Factor of Psychological Well-Being

The article presents an analytical review of modern foreign studies devoted to the psychological effects, mechanisms and patterns of influence of children and parenthood on the psychological well-being of adults. Based on the generalization of the results of individual theoretical and empirical studies, systematic and meta-analytical reviews, the history of formation, current state and prospects for the development of this scientific direction are considered. The most general and stably reproducible patterns of the impact of children and parenthood on various components (cognitive, affective, motivational), levels (global, domain, subdomain) and types (hedonic, eudaimonic, existential) of psychological well-being of adults are formulated. Additional and intermediate variables acting as mediators and moderators of the dependence of psychological well-being of adults on children and the parental role are identified. It is shown that the key integrative factor mediating this dependence is the personal meaning of the child for an adult, which determines the strength, direction and form of the influence of children and parental status on psychological well-being. Based on the results of the analytical revision and critical assessment of the current state of the problem, it is argued that a promising line of its development is the construction of a psychological concept of the personal meaning of a child for an adult.

1. Karpinskii K.V. Lichnostnyi smysl rebenka v regulyatsii professional'noi pedonomicheskoi deyatel'nosti [Personal meaning of a child as a regulator of pedonomic vocational activity]. Yaroslavskii pedagogicheskii vestnik = Yaroslavl Pedagogical Bulletin, 2024, no. 1 (136), pp. 170—184. DOI:10.20323/1813-145X_2024_1_136_170 (In Russ.).
2. Karpinskii K.V. Lichnostnyi smysl rebenka i perezhivanie smyslozhiznennogo krizisa v situatsii besplodiya [Personal meaning of a child and experience of a meaning of life crisis in a situation of infertility]. Vestnik Gosudarstvennogo universiteta prosveshcheniya. Seriya: Psikhologicheskie nauki = Bulletin of the State University of Education. Series: Psychology, 2024, no. 2, pp. 40—55. DOI:10.18384/2949-5105-2024-2-40-55 (In Russ.).
3. Karpinskii K.V. Lichnostnyi smysl rebenka: chto deti znachat dlya vzroslykh [Repsonal meaning of a child: What children mean for adults]. Grodno: Publ. GrGU, 2023. 515 p. (In Russ.).
4. Karpinskii K.V. Pregradnyi smysl rebenka: polovozrastnaya i sotsial'no-demograficheskaya izmenchivost' v belorusskoi populyatsionnoi mul'tivyborke [The negative meaning of the child: gender, age and socio-demographic variability in the Belarusian population multi-sample]. Vesnіk GrDU іmya Yankі Kupaly. Seriya. 3. Filologiya. Pedagogika. Psіkhalogіya [Bulletin of the Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno. Series 3. Philology. Pedagogy. Psychology], 2022, vol.12, no. 3, pp. 115—129. (In Russ.).
5. Karpinskii K.V., Gizhuk T.V. Shkala attityudov mnogodetnosti [Multichildhood attitudes scale]. In K.V. Karpinskii (ed.), Sovremennye metody psikhologicheskoi diagnostiki [Modern methods of psychological diagnostics]. Grodno: Publ. GrGU, 2022, pp. 62—117. (In Russ.).
6. Angeles L. Children and Life Satisfaction. Journal of Happiness Studies, 2010. Vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 523—538. DOI:10.1007/s10902-009-9168-z
7. Bradbury T.N., Fincham F.D., Beach S.H. Research on the Nature and Determinants of Marital Satisfaction: A Decade in Review. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 2000. Vol. 62, pp. 964—980. DOI:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2000.00964.x
8. Dunst C.J. Meta-Analyses of the Relationships between Family Systems Practices, Parents' Psychological Health, and Parenting Quality. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2023. Vol. 20, no. 18, article ID 6723. 23 p. DOI:10.3390/ijerph20186723
9. Hershkovitz-Freudenthal A., Lavenda O. Factors associated with contemporary fatherhood. Frontiers in Psychology, 2024. Vol. 15, article ID 1403955. 10 p. DOI:10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1403955
10. Hong P., Cui M. Overparenting and psychological well-being of emerging adult children in the United States and China. Family Relations, 2023. Vol. 72, no. 5, pp. 2852—2868. DOI:10.1111/fare.12839
11. Langdridge D., Sheeran P., Connolly K. Understanding the reasons for parenthood. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 2005. Vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 121—133. DOI:10.1080/02646830500129438
12. McLanahan S., Adams J. The Effects of Children on Adults' Psychological Well-Being: 1957—1976. Social Forces, 1989. Vol. 68, no. 1, pp. 124—146. DOI:10.2307/2579223
13. Nelson S., Kushlev K., Lyubomirsky S. The pains and pleasures of parenting: When, why, and how is parenthood associated with more or less well-being? Psychological Bulletin, 2014. Vol. 140, no. 3, pp. 846—895. DOI:10.1037/a0035444
14. Nomaguchi K., Milkie M.A. Costs and Rewards of Children: The Effects of Becoming a Parent on Adults’ Lives. Journal of Marriage and Family, 2003. Vol. 65, no. 2, pp. 356—374. DOI:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2003.00356.x
15. Nomaguchi K., Milkie M.A. Parenthood and Well-Being: A Decade in Review. Journal of Marriage and Family, 2020. Vol. 82, no. 1, pp. 198—223. DOI:10.1111/jomf.12646
16. Nelson-Coffey S.K., Killingsworth M., Layous K., Cole S.W., Lyubomirsky S. Parenthood Is Associated With Greater Well-Being for Fathers Than Mothers. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 2019. Vol. 45, no. 9, pp. 1378—1390. DOI:10.1177/0146167219829174
17. Rado M.K. Tracking the Effects of Parenthood on Subjective Well-Being: Evidence from Hungary. Journal of Happiness Studies, 2020. Vol. 21, no. 6, pp. 2069—2094. DOI:10.1007/s10902-019-00166-y
18. Grundström J., Kiviruusu O., Konttinen H., Berg N. Reciprocal associations between parenthood and mental well-being — a prospective analysis from age 16 to 52 years. Current Psychology, 2024. Vol. 43, pp. 2238—2252. DOI:10.1007/s12144-023-04487-3
19. Masefield S.C., Prady S.L., Sheldon T.A., Small N., Jarvis S., Pickett K.E. The Caregiving Health Effects of Caring for Young Children with Developmental Disabilities: A Meta-Analysis. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 2020. Vol. 24, pp. 561—574. DOI:10.1007/s10995-020-02896-5
20. Trommsdorff G., Nauck B. (eds.) The Value of Children in Cross-Cultural Perspective: Case Studies from Eight Societies. Lengerich: Pabst Science, 2005. 288 p.
21. To S.M., Yang L., Yan M.W. The Presence of Meaning in Parenthood, Perceived Social Support, and Happiness of Mothers Living in Hong Kong: A Comparative Study on Younger and Older Mothers. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2022. Vol. 19, no. 5, article ID 2730. 17 p. DOI:10.3390/ijerph19052730
22. Twenge J.M., Campbell W.K., Foster C.A. Parenthood and Marital Satisfaction: A Meta-Analytic Review. Journal of Marriage and Family, 2003. Vol. 65, no. 3, pp. 574—583. DOI:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2003.00574.x
23. Umberson D., Gove W.R. Parenthood and Psychological Well-Being: Theory, Measurement, and Stage in the Family Life-Course. Journal of Family Issues, 1989. Vol. 10, no. 4, pp. 440—462. DOI:10.1177/019251389010004002
24. Umberson D., Pudrovska T., Reczek C. Parenthood, Childlessness, and Well-Being: A Life Course Perspective. Journal of Marriage and Family, 2010. Vol. 72, no. 3, pp. 612—629. DOI:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2010.00721.x
25. Kowal M., Groyecka-Bernard A., Kochan-Wójcik M., Sorokowski P. When and how does the number of children affect marital satisfaction? An international survey. PLoS One, 2021. Vol. 16, no. 4, article ID e0249516. 14 p. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0249516
26. Yu Q., Zhang J., Zhang L., Zhang Q., Guo Y., Jin S., Chen J. Who Gains More? The Relationship Between Parenthood and Well-Being. Evolutionary Psychology, 2019. Vol. 17, no. 3, [pp. 1—10.]. DOI:10.1177/1474704919860467