Women of the 1950s and the “Normative” Life Course: The Implications of Childlessness, Fertility Timing, and Marital Status for Psychological Well-Being in Late Midlife

We explore women's psychological well-being in late midlife in relation to childlessness and timing of entry into motherhood. Using two U.S. surveys, Health and Retirement Study (HRS) (1992) and National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH) (Sweet, Bumpass, & Call, 1988), we assess the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of aging & human development 2007-01, Vol.64 (4), p.299-330
Main Authors: Koropeckyj-Cox, Tanya, Pienta, Amy Mehraban, Brown, Tyson H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation, Psychological
Adult. Elderly
Biological and medical sciences
Childbirth & labor
Childlessness
Children
Data Collection
Depression - etiology
Developmental psychology
Emotions
Family - psychology
Female
Fertility
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Health problems
Households
Humans
Marital Status
Maternal and infant welfare
Middle age
Middle Aged
Mothers
Personal Satisfaction
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Retirement
Single persons
Social Class
Socioeconomic factors
Socioeconomic status
Well being
Women
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Summary:We explore women's psychological well-being in late midlife in relation to childlessness and timing of entry into motherhood. Using two U.S. surveys, Health and Retirement Study (HRS) (1992) and National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH) (Sweet, Bumpass, & Call, 1988), we assess the well-being of childless women in their 50s compared to mothers with early, delayed, or normatively timed first births. We focus on the cohorts born between 1928 and 1941, who experienced strong normative pressures during the baby boom with regard to marriage and child-bearing. We find few differences among childless women but lower well-being among early mothers, related to singlehood and poorer socioeconomic status. Unmarried mothers are significantly disadvantaged regardless of maternal timing, controlling for socioeconomic status. Current maternal demands are independently related to well-being and help to explain observed differences in family satisfaction. Overall, childlessness and off-time child-bearing are related to midlife well-being through their link with more proximate factors, particularly current marital status, health, and socioeconomic status.
ISSN:0091-4150
1541-3535
DOI:10.2190/8PTL-P745-58U1-3330