28/07/2025
A University of California, Berkeley study reveals that mothers parenting daughters experience nearly twice as much physiological stress as those parenting sons. By measuring cortisol—the body’s primary stress hormone—researchers found significantly higher spikes in women caring for girls, suggesting that daughters may trigger more emotionally intense interactions. This doesn’t necessarily mean daughters are harder to raise, but rather points to different dynamics in the mother–daughter bond. The study underscores the complex ways in which gender influences parental stress responses, even when psychological self-reports show little change, highlighting how deeply rooted these differences are in biological systems. These findings add to broader research linking parenting stress to elevated cortisol and significant effects on both mental and physical health.
