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WELL, WHAT DID YOU EXPECT?: FAMILY TRANSITIONS, LIFE COURSE EXPECTATIONS, AND MENTAL HEALTH

Carlson, Daniel L.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1281550638

Abstract Details

2010, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Sociology.
One of the most substantial social developments in the United States over the last half century has been the dramatic shift in the way individuals now experience marriage and parenthood. These demographic changes are important because marital and parental status, as well as the timing and order in which these family transitions are made, affect psychological well-being. Although the links between marriage, parenthood, and well-being are well-established, these research findings and the policies based on them implicitly assume that the associations between marriage, parenthood, and psychological well-being are universal and invariant, when in fact they are not. In this study I focus on one under explored set of factors – individuals’ life course expectations – which may condition these associations. Although a large body of research and theory in developmental psychology emphasizes the importance of expectations in shaping identity development and consequently, well-being, sociological and demographic research on family status and mental health has, with a few exceptions, largely ignored this perspective. I integrate these two research traditions to develop and test a theoretical model which argues that the mental health effects of role acquisition or absence, and the timing and sequencing of role entry, likely depends on expectations for role acquisition, timing, and sequencing. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79) I find substantial variation in individuals’ ability to meet their expectations for the occurrence, timing, and sequencing of marriage and parenthood. For the most part, recent increases in permanent singlehood, age at marriage, childlessness, age at first birth, and pre-marital childbearing were not expected. OLS regression on respondents’ reported depressive symptoms at age 40 indicate that expectations for the occurrence, timing, and sequencing of marriage and parenthood generally moderate mental health outcomes associated with the transition into marriage and parenthood, producing significant variation not only in mental health outcomes but also in mental health differences across marital and parental status. The fact that most of the demographic changes in family formation were not expected indicates that for those at their forefront these changes resulted in a substantial degree of structural strain, leaving few in this cohort psychologically unaffected.
Kristi Williams, PhD (Advisor)
John Casterline (Other)
Cynthia Colen (Other)
217 p.
Sociology
Marriage; Parenthood; Depression; Life Course; Stress; Identity; Family Transitions

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Carlson, D. L. (2010). WELL, WHAT DID YOU EXPECT?: FAMILY TRANSITIONS, LIFE COURSE EXPECTATIONS, AND MENTAL HEALTH [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1281550638

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Carlson, Daniel. WELL, WHAT DID YOU EXPECT?: FAMILY TRANSITIONS, LIFE COURSE EXPECTATIONS, AND MENTAL HEALTH. 2010. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1281550638.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Carlson, Daniel. "WELL, WHAT DID YOU EXPECT?: FAMILY TRANSITIONS, LIFE COURSE EXPECTATIONS, AND MENTAL HEALTH." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1281550638

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.