Childlessness and the Male Life Course: Factors Influencing Parenthood, Psychological Well-being and Marital Satisfaction in the UK

This thesis explores childlessness among men in the UK, focusing on factors that influence parenthood, subjective well-being, and marital satisfaction using data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study (Understanding Society UKHLS). In doing so, I examine how educational attainment and marital status influence the likelihood of men becoming parents. In the first chapter, I used a discrete-time complementary log-log model, and the results reveal that while both factors influence parenthood independently, their interplay role has a significant effect. I found that married men with higher education are more likely to become fathers than their single counterparts. These findings highlight the role of marital status in shaping men’s decisions about fatherhood. I then shift to the psychological well-being of men in the second chapter. Comparing the well-being of childless men with that of fathers, using OLS regression, I found no significant differences between the two groups; only after controlling for other factors childless men reported better well-being compared to fathers. Being married, cohabiting, and having a strong social connection increase well-being, controlling for parenthood status. To explore this further, I examine the role of marital status and social cohesion in moderating the relationship between childlessness and well-being. Showing that being married, cohabiting, and having a strong social connection does not change the effect of parenthood on well-being. The findings challenge the widely perceived assumption that childlessness negatively impacts psychological well-being. Finally, I investigate marital satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic for married, focusing on the influence of parenthood, the age of the youngest child, and financial situation. Using the OLS with Difference Score Model, I found that childless married men experienced an increase in marital satisfaction post-pandemic, while those with younger children reported a decline. The interaction term between parenthood and subjective financial situation was insignificant. The study suggests that for childless men, marital satisfaction was influenced more by factors other than financial situation, highlighting the complex nature of the marital dynamics during times of uncertainty. The findings contribute to the scarce literature on men’s experience of childlessness, well-being, and marital satisfaction.