People who have children experience greater happiness and feel they find more meaning in life than those without kids , according to psychologist from the university of California and university of British Columbia and Stanford university. They also said that in spite of all kinds of pressure linked to parenthood, parents feel happier during the day hours when they are taking care of their kids than during other daily tasks. The report included three different studies , one from each university, and appeared in the journal psychological science .
The research was carried out in three stages, and in each of the parts psychologists interviewed about 190 people and asked them to describe how they felt during their daily activities which included cooking, changing diapers(尿布), doing the dishes, going to work and playing with the kids. The authors wanted to figure out whether people who had children felt happier and evaluated(评估)their lives more positively when compared to those without kids. They were also interested in whether parents experienced more positive feelings while taking care of their kids than when doing some other day -to -day activities .
According to Elizabeth Dunn, psychology professor at the University of British Columbia and a co-author of the study, the results were quite a surprise for the researchers. All the people who had children reported that caring for their young ones was more meaningful and made their lives much happier than any other activity did.
These findings challenge the common belief that children are linked to reduced well-being, researchers said. The impression many people have now from the mass media and academic research is that being a parent seems to be quite a negative experience. Many previous studies on this topic linked parenthood to unhappy marriages, lower life satisfaction and even depression, Elizabeth Dunn, who was expecting her first child, said. In Dunn's personal opinion, parenthood is related to, but may not cause, happiness.
The results showed that age and marital status(婚姻状况)also played a role in parental happiness. The study found that older and more mature married couples who have higher social status and do not have financial problems are more likely to be happier if they have kids when compared to childless couples. Even single parents said that all the stresses linked to parenthood did not completely wipe out the feelings of satisfaction caused by caring for kids. On the other hand, young parents who were under the age of 26 were found to be significantly unhappier than their peers who did not have children. Interestingly, fathers in the study were reported to be particularly satisfied and experience only positive feelings compared to men without kids.
Sonja Lyubomirsky, professor of psychology at UC Riverside and a leading scholar in positive psychology, said that their study does not necessarily mean that parenting makes people happy; however, there is a clear connection to be taken into consideration. And while more research is needed on the matter, the new findings suggest that the responsibilities and all the work that arrives with parenthood may be offset (抵消)by the pleasure of having children, and childcare may actually be linked to feelings of happiness and meaning in life.
8. What does the passage mainly tell us?
A.What marriage and parenthood are. | B.How marriage is linked to parenthood. |
C.Whether parenthood is beneficial. | D.Parenthood brings people more happiness . |
9. What can we know about the research from Paragraph 2?
1. The findings of the research
2. The number of people involved in the research
3. The researchers’ expectation
4. Where the research was carried out
10. What's Elizabeth Dunn's attitude towards parental happiness?
A.Uninterested. | B.Curious. | C.Cautious. | D.Opposed. |
11. It can be inferred from the passage that ________.
A.the research about parental happiness wasn't totally convincing |
B.marital status plays the most important role in parental happiness |
C.fathers are more likely to feel happy about caring for a child than mothers |
D.the younger parents have children, the happier they are |