Hood as a way to find meaning and purpose amidst limited life chances (notably, this study does not compare young mothers to their childfree peers or those who delayed parenthood). Knoester and Eggebeen (2006) considered the effects of transition to fatherhood for men (age 19 to 65) with a national longitudinal sample and, similar to Booth and colleagues, found no significant effect on men’s psychological well-being. Taylor (2009), using the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS), compared the psychological well-being of midlife adults who had children before and after the age of 20 and also found no significant effects of early childbirth on men’s or women’s psychological well-being. In contrast to these studies, Mirowsky and Ross (2002) analyzed a cross section of individuals age 18 to 95 and concluded that early transitions to parenthood are associated with increased risk for depression. They found that men and women who have their first child prior to age 23 are more depressed than their Flavopiridol site childless peers but that, after age 23, those who have a child are less depressed than the childless. This suggests that later or ontime transition to parenthood might actually benefit well-being. Men experienced a monotonic increase in benefits the longer they delayed their first child. Women experienced increased benefits from age 23 to 30, but not beyond this age. These findings may contrast with the Booth and Eggebeen studies because Mirowsky and Ross considered long-term life course effects of early parenthood on depression rather than short-term effects of the transition experience among young adults. Although the Mirowsky study relied on crosssectional data, it is unlikely that retrospective reports of age at first birth are biased. Adverse effects of early parenting transitions were also reported by Henretta (2007), whose longitudinal analysis showed that age at first birth was associated with increased mortalityNIH-PA Thonzonium (bromide) custom synthesis Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author ManuscriptJ Marriage Fam. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2011 August 23.Umberson et al.Pagerisk for women who gave birth prior to age 20. Similarly, Taylor (2009) found that, at midlife, those who became parents before the age of 20 had worse self-rated health than those who became parents after the age of 20, and Spence (2008) found that early transition to parenthood was associated with more depression and activity limitations in late life. Apart from age at first birth, effects of the transition to parenthood on well-being depend on gender and marital status. Nomaguchi and Milkie’s (2003) longitudinal analysis showed that, compared to their married counterparts, unmarried men and women transitioning to parenthood experienced a reduction in self-efficacy, and unmarried men experienced an increase in psychological distress. Married women who transitioned to parenthood were less distressed than their childless counterparts, whereas the transition to parenthood had no effect on married men’s distress levels. Woo and Raley (2005) extended this work to include cohabitors. They found that, compared to new mothers who were either married or single, cohabiting women who transitioned to parenthood experienced a greater decline in psychological well-being. Cohabiting fathers experienced lower levels of depression than single fathers. Keeton and colleagues (2008) studied the impact of the transition to parenthood on well-being for 1 year following births to working class dual ea.Hood as a way to find meaning and purpose amidst limited life chances (notably, this study does not compare young mothers to their childfree peers or those who delayed parenthood). Knoester and Eggebeen (2006) considered the effects of transition to fatherhood for men (age 19 to 65) with a national longitudinal sample and, similar to Booth and colleagues, found no significant effect on men’s psychological well-being. Taylor (2009), using the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS), compared the psychological well-being of midlife adults who had children before and after the age of 20 and also found no significant effects of early childbirth on men’s or women’s psychological well-being. In contrast to these studies, Mirowsky and Ross (2002) analyzed a cross section of individuals age 18 to 95 and concluded that early transitions to parenthood are associated with increased risk for depression. They found that men and women who have their first child prior to age 23 are more depressed than their childless peers but that, after age 23, those who have a child are less depressed than the childless. This suggests that later or ontime transition to parenthood might actually benefit well-being. Men experienced a monotonic increase in benefits the longer they delayed their first child. Women experienced increased benefits from age 23 to 30, but not beyond this age. These findings may contrast with the Booth and Eggebeen studies because Mirowsky and Ross considered long-term life course effects of early parenthood on depression rather than short-term effects of the transition experience among young adults. Although the Mirowsky study relied on crosssectional data, it is unlikely that retrospective reports of age at first birth are biased. Adverse effects of early parenting transitions were also reported by Henretta (2007), whose longitudinal analysis showed that age at first birth was associated with increased mortalityNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author ManuscriptJ Marriage Fam. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2011 August 23.Umberson et al.Pagerisk for women who gave birth prior to age 20. Similarly, Taylor (2009) found that, at midlife, those who became parents before the age of 20 had worse self-rated health than those who became parents after the age of 20, and Spence (2008) found that early transition to parenthood was associated with more depression and activity limitations in late life. Apart from age at first birth, effects of the transition to parenthood on well-being depend on gender and marital status. Nomaguchi and Milkie’s (2003) longitudinal analysis showed that, compared to their married counterparts, unmarried men and women transitioning to parenthood experienced a reduction in self-efficacy, and unmarried men experienced an increase in psychological distress. Married women who transitioned to parenthood were less distressed than their childless counterparts, whereas the transition to parenthood had no effect on married men’s distress levels. Woo and Raley (2005) extended this work to include cohabitors. They found that, compared to new mothers who were either married or single, cohabiting women who transitioned to parenthood experienced a greater decline in psychological well-being. Cohabiting fathers experienced lower levels of depression than single fathers. Keeton and colleagues (2008) studied the impact of the transition to parenthood on well-being for 1 year following births to working class dual ea.