Who reports higher happiness? The association between number of children, gender composition of offspring and parental happiness

Previous studies have shown that parenthood is associated with happiness; however, few studies have explored the associations between offspring composition (including the number of children and the gender composition of offspring) and happiness. This study explores these associations using six waves of the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) 2012-2021. The results show that, after controlling for all covariates, parents report higher happiness than non-parents. Among parents, a larger number of children is positively associated with happiness only among those aged 60 and above. Regarding gender composition, all-female offspring are positively associated with parental happiness, with the strongest association observed among middle-aged parents and in the two-daughters combination. These associations vary systematically by life-course stage, urban/rural residence, and gender. This study incorporates the number of children and gender composition of offspring into a unified analytical framework in the Chinese context, providing new empirical evidence on how offspring composition is differentially associated with parental happiness across different groups in the context of low fertility and aging.