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Correlational findings

Study Myrskyla & Margolis (2014): study DE 1984

Public
New parents, Germany, followed before and after first child, 1984 - 2009
Survey name
DE-SOEP
Sample
Respondents
N = 4513
Non Response
Assessment
Interview: face-to-face

Correlate

Authors's Label
Time before/after the childbirth
Our Classification
Related specification variables
Operationalization
Time before/after the childbirth
T1: 4-5 years before (=reference)
T2: 2-3 years before
T3: 1 year before
T4: First child born
T5: 1-2 years after
T6: 3-4 years after
T7:5-9 years after
T8: 10-15/18 years after

Observed Relation with Happiness

Happiness Measure Statistics Elaboration / Remarks O-SLW-c-sq-n-11-d = CHANGE happiness since T1 O-SLW-c-sq-n-11-d b-fix = +.08 p < .1 T1-T2: 2-3 years before O-SLW-c-sq-n-11-d b-fix = +.30 p < .01 T1-T3: 1 year before O-SLW-c-sq-n-11-d b-fix = +.32 p < .01 T1-T4: first child born O-SLW-c-sq-n-11-d b-fix = +.05 ns T1-T5: 1-2 years after O-SLW-c-sq-n-11-d b-fix = +.03 ns T1-T6: 3-4 years after O-SLW-c-sq-n-11-d b-fix = +.02 ns T1-T7: 5-9 years after O-SLW-c-sq-n-11-d b-fix = +.02 ns T1-T8: 10-15/18 years after

Fixed-effects controlled for:
- age
- period dummies
- education years
O-SLW-c-sq-n-11-d b-fix = By AGE group
a: 18-22
b: 23-34
c: 35-49


SOEP = German Socio-Economic Panel, with sample
sizes of 691 for ages 15–22; 3,258 for ages 23–34; and 564 for ages 35–49.
Standard errors are estimated using robust methods that account for the clustering of data within individuals. To obtain stable estimates for the young parents, these age-stratified analyses use 3–5 years before birth as the baseline.
The test for the overall difference between ages 18–22 and 23–34 is significant at p < .001 (SOEP); the test for the difference between ages 23–34 and 35–49 is significant at p < .001 (SOEP).
The first row of significance markers under the x-axis is for the test between ages 18–22 and 23–34; the second row of significance markers under the x-axis tests differences between ages 23–34 and 35–49.


b-fix controls for:
- age
- period dummies
- fixed effects for individuals
O-SLW-c-sq-n-11-d b-fix = By SEX
a: Men
b: Women

SOEP = German Socio-Economic Panel, with a sample size of 1,927 men and 2,586 women.
Standard errors are estimated using robust methods that account for the clustering of data within individuals. Tests for overall male-female difference are significant at p < .05 (SOEP) and p < .01 (BHPS).


B-fix controls for:
- age
- period dummies
- fixed effects for individuals
O-SLW-c-sq-n-11-d b-fix = By MARITAL STATUS
a: Unmarried
b: Married

SOEP = German Socio-Economic Panel, with sample sizes of 3,402 (married) and 1,111 (not
married).
Standard errors are estimated using robust methods that account for the clustering of data within individuals. The test for the difference between partnered and nonpartnered is significant at p < .001 (SOEP).

B-fix controls for:
- age
- period dummies
- fixed effects for individuals
O-SLW-c-sq-n-11-d b-fix = By EDUCATION
a: high = at least 12 years
b: low  = less than 12 years


Model controls for:
- age
- period dummies
- fixed effects for individuals
O-SLW-c-sq-n-11-d b-fix = By PARITY
a: First child
b: Second child
c: Third child

Model controls for:
- previous children's birth and its anticipation
- age
- period dummies
- fixed effects
O-SLW-c-sq-n-11-d b = OLS regression analyses yielded similar results. The main difference between the OLS and the FE models is that the happiness increase in the years preceding birth and in the year of birth is somewhat stronger in the FE specification, and the decrease in post-birth decline is not quite as strong in the FE specification. In the FE model for the German data, we also observe an increase in happiness two to three years before the birth.