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Parental Status and Biological Functioning: Findings from the Nashville Stress and Health Study
Reed T DeAngelis1, John Taylor2, Katherine L Friedman3
1Department of Sociology and Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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 = 1,252). 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.
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