It is difficult to break it down to one all-encompasing "happiness" variable: https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2021/11/does-having-kids-make-you-happ

It is difficult to break it down to one all-encompasing "happiness" variable: https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2021/11/does-having-kids-make-you-happy/620576/ https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2021/11/does-havi... There is happiness, satisfaction, stress, purpose … etc all which can be desirable in their own way and still conflict. > When you ask people about their life’s meaning and purpose, parents say that their lives have more meaning than those of nonparents. A study by the social psychologist Roy Baumeister and his colleagues found that the more time people spent taking care of children, the more meaningful they said their life was—even though they reported that their life was no happier.