Parental Status and Biological Functioning: Findings from the Nashville Stress and Health Study

Reed T. DeAngelis and John Taylor ()
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Reed T. DeAngelis: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
John Taylor: Florida State University

Population Research and Policy Review, 2020, vol. 39, issue 2, No 7, 365-373

Abstract: Abstract Does childrearing affect the biological functioning of parents? To address this question, we analyze cross-sectional survey and biomarker data from Vanderbilt University’s Nashville Stress and Health Study, a probability sample of non-Hispanic White and Black working-age adults from Davidson County, Tennessee (2011–2014; n = 1252). Multivariable regression analyses reveal a linear dose–response relationship between the number of children living in a respondent’s home and (a) increased allostatic load, and (b) decreased leukocyte telomere length. We found no differences in biological functioning between childless respondents and empty-nest parents. These findings also withstood controls for a battery of socioeconomic factors. The implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Keywords: Childrearing; Parental health; Biological functioning; Allostatic load; Telomere length (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1007/s11113-019-09534-1

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