Socioeconomic Consequences of Childbirth for Men

Holly Schindler, Harvard University

This study addresses how becoming a father affects men’s income, employment, and housework trajectories using thirty waves of data from the PSID (n=6,681). Results of group-based trajectory analyses reveal that how men’s trajectories are affected by having a child depends on both the age at which they become fathers and their socioeconomic status. Specifically, men who become fathers during early or middle adulthood increase their income trajectories following the birth of a child, while men who become fathers during adolescence do not increase their income trajectories following the birth of a child. On the other hand, adolescent fathers increase their time in housework following childbirth more than any other age group. Regarding differences by trajectory groups, men in the lowest income group increase their incomes the most in response to having a child. Similarly, the most disadvantaged employment group responds to childbirth with significant increases in time spent in employment.