Transition to Parenthood and Changes in Wellbeing and Relationship Quality: A Propensity Score Matching Approach

Does becoming a parent enhance or undermine wellbeing and relationship quality? Mixed findings along with methodological challenges do not provide clear answers. Drawing from nationally representative data in New Zealand collected across 2012–2024, we extended prior studies by using propensity score matching to compare changes in both wellbeing and relationship quality of people who became parents ( n = 1,260) to matched controls who did not become parents ( n = 1,260) but were similar in key socio-demographics and baseline wellbeing and relationship quality. On average, parenthood had small wellbeing benefits. Matched controls experienced small steady declines in life satisfaction and increases in psychological distress. By contrast, people who became parents sustained higher life satisfaction for 2 years following the transition before declining to the same levels as matched controls 4 years later. New parents also did not show increases in psychological distress, but differences to matched controls were small and mostly nonsignificant. Parenthood was also accompanied by relationship challenges. Both matched controls and people who became parents experienced significant declines in relationship satisfaction across time, and these trajectories did not significantly differ. However, new parents reported significantly stronger increases in conflict across the following 4 years compared to matched controls. The results strengthen evidence that parents may experience small life satisfaction benefits, and indicate that declines in relationship satisfaction may not be as unique to the transition to parenthood as prior studies assume, but reveal that new parents may encounter increases in relationship conflict that likely challenge relationship satisfaction and wellbeing.