Over the past decade, there has been a significant amount of evidence collected that suggests that having children does not make people happy.

However, according to a study by a group of psychologists from the University of British Columbia, UC Riverside, and Stanford, there is a psychological benefit to parenting — particularly among fathers.

Researchers say they found that, “parenthood was associated with greater satisfaction and happiness only among fathers,” and that mothers were not actually happier than women without children.

In fact, married fathers seemed to be the happiest of them all.

If parenting is associated with more joy than misery, dads appear be capitalizing on the “joy” portion of the experience.

Even though fathers appear to be happier, researchers say the one consistent psychological benefit consistent in both parents across the board appeared to be “a stronger sense of meaning in life” than people without children.

Researchers admit that studies like this one may actually cause parents to overestimate their well being because of widespread beliefs about the desirability of parenting.

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