New study says parents more likely to have unhappy holidays

Ho ho ho! This new study from the American Sociological Association just in! Parents are more likely to suffer from signs of depression than unparents. I'm going to cite this study when people try to convince me that having kids will make me happier.

Parenthood is not associated with enhanced mental health, and, in fact, is more likely to be associated with symptoms of depression, according to recently published sociological research. The research finds that parents of all types report more symptoms of depression than nonparents. In addition, the research confirms that certain types of parenthood are associated with more depression than others.

Unlike other major adult social roles in the United States, parenthood does not present a mental health advantage for individuals, find sociologists Ranae J. Evenson, Vanderbilt University, and Robin W. Simon, Florida State University. Their article, "Clarifying the Relationship between Parenthood and Depression," appears in the December issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, published by the 100-year-old American Sociological Association.

Their analyses are from the first wave of the National Survey of Families and Households, which was based a national probability sample of 13,000 U.S. adults. They oversampled blacks and Hispanics, single and recently married persons, and single and stepparents. Using 12 items from the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, the researchers went beyond looking at emotional well-being and researched the relationship between parenthood and symptoms of depression.
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