Changes in the Lifestyles of New Parents

This report presents results of a study of how young men and women reallocate their time when they become parents. It examines a wide range of activities, but focuses on two key aspects of the lives of young adults: education and employment. Data were taken from the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972. The report's principal finding is that young couples who became parents in the 1970s, like those in previous decades, have modified their lifestyles in accordance with traditional family roles — the women serving as homemakers and mothers and the men as breadwinners; but on the whole, they have met the demands and responsibilities of parenthood without changing their views of who they are or what they wish to accomplish. The authors also found that new parents tend to have more stable marriages than couples who remain childless. Other RAND publications that draw on the same data to address related issues include RAND/R-2771-NICHD and RAND/R-2616-HEW.