The Effect of Childbearing on the Subjective Well-being of the Elderly and Its Psychological Mechanisms

Abstract

From the perspective of psychological development, childbearing is an essential or substitutive compensatory experience in life. The sense of hope and permanence that we can derive from our adult children, or from other substitutes, as we grow older is not only a matter of individual physical and mental health and well-being, but also of the success of our country's ageing strategy.In this paper, three aspects of the positive, negative, and uncertain impacts of childbearing on the subjective well-being of older adults and their psychological mechanisms are examined from a psychological perspective.Current research is mostly on changes in the subjective well-being of older people after having children, and in the future it could be studied how young people choose to have offspring in the present in order to enhance their well-being in old age, thus increasing the birth rate.