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When Life Happens: Investigating Short and Long-Term Effects of Life Stressors on Life Satisfaction in a Large Sample of Norwegian Mothers

Journal of Happiness Studies volume 20, pages 1689–1715 (2019)Cite this article

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of major life stressors on the short and long-term life satisfaction (LS) of Norwegian mothers using data from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort study (MoBa, N = 46,342). Data on LS were collected at T1 (6 months postpartum) and T3 (36 months postpartum), and data on life stressors at T2 (18 months postpartum) and T3. Altogether, 24,216 participants reported life stressors between T1 and T2, and 25,284 between T2 and T3. Life stressors had significant negative short-term and long-term effects on LS. Experiencing multiple stressors increased the negative impact on satisfaction linearly. Relationship dissolution, economic problems, becoming seriously ill, and conflict with family/friends most strongly predicted short-term LS (Cohen’s d − .18 to − 1.15). Being pressured to sexual acts, relationship dissolution, economic problems and becoming seriously ill most strongly predicted long-term LS (Cohen’s d − .15 to − 1.05). When calculating the overall societal burden of life stressors, economic problems, conflict with family/friends, and work-related problems were shown to be particularly detrimental to maternal life satisfaction.

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Notes

  1. The reported sample sizes refer to N of pregnancies. However, some women were recruited more than once (i.e., when expecting a new baby subsequent to the initial pregnancy), thereby allowing for inclusion of siblings among the children. Thus, the number of women included was lower than the number of pregnancies. We chose to include the multiple entries of women, as this strategy would retain all available information. Although some women were included twice, each data entry refers to different time periods. We also reran the analyses with only single entries for each woman; the findings and conclusions remained the same as those reported here.

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Acknowledgements

The Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study is supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education and Research, NIH/NIEHS (Contract No NO-ES-75558), NIH/NINDS (Grant No. 1 UO1 NS 047537-01), and the Norwegian Research Council/FUGE (Grant No. 151918/S10). We are grateful to all participating families in Norway who take part in this ongoing cohort study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Gjøvik, Gjøvik, Norway

    Gunvor Marie Dyrdal

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

    Espen Røysamb & Ragnhild Bang Nes

  3. Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway

    Espen Røysamb & Ragnhild Bang Nes

  4. Department of Psychology, University of Tromsø, Tromsø, Norway

    Joar Vittersø

Authors
  1. Gunvor Marie Dyrdal
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  2. Espen Røysamb
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  3. Ragnhild Bang Nes
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  4. Joar Vittersø
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Correspondence to Gunvor Marie Dyrdal.

Appendix

Appendix

Table 3 Values used to calculate the Burden on Society Index
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Dyrdal, G.M., Røysamb, E., Nes, R.B. et al. When Life Happens: Investigating Short and Long-Term Effects of Life Stressors on Life Satisfaction in a Large Sample of Norwegian Mothers. J Happiness Stud 20, 1689–1715 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-018-0024-x

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Keywords

  • Life satisfaction
  • Life events
  • Stressors
  • Short-term
  • Long-term
  • Wellbeing
  • Societal burden
  • The Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa)