Older Americans Don't Like Living with Children

That's a shocking statement, but it is supported by research findings: people aged 65 or older who live with children under age 18 are unhappier, angrier, more worried and stressed out than those who do not live with children under age 18--even after controlling for factors that might cause negative emotions.

In the delightfully titled study, "Grandpa and the Snapper: The Wellbeing of the Elderly Who Live with Children," NBER researchers Angus Deaton and Arthur A. Stone examine data from the Gallup Healthways Wellbeing Index. They measure the happiness, enjoyment, worry, and stress of people who live with and without children under age 18. Younger adults gain both pleasure and pain from living with children, but for the elderly it's all pain and no pleasure.

"Our evidence suggests that living with children under 18 is associated with worse outcomes on all measures," say the researchers. "None of this is to argue that some elderly do not take pleasure in their grandchildren or in the children of those with whom they live. But, on average, we can find no evidence of it."

How Many Grandchildren?

Most of the oldest boomers (born in 1946) have grandchildren, according to MetLife Mature Market Institute, which has been tracking this cohort for years. In 2012, fully 85 percent of the oldest boomers (who turned 66 last year) had grandchildren. Among the grandparents, the average number of grandchildren was 4.8.

For more about the oldest boomers, see The MetLife Report on the Oldest Boomers--Healthy, Retiring Rapidly and Collecting Social Security.