Dolan has carried out original research into the measurement of happiness and its causes and consequences and is the author of Happy Ever After, which uses evidence from the American Time Use Survey as well as other studies.

Despite the evidence pointing to single women without children being happiest, there was still some stigma which meant these women could feel unhappy, said Dolan.

And he said that while having children is an “amazing experience” for some people, for others it isn’t and the “idea that we can’t talk openly about why that might be is a problem”.

We definitely agree that there should be more open discussions about marriage and children, and the perfection myth around them. But we also think that women who don’t want to get married or have children should be able to do so without commentary, and without having to explain or defend themselves.

Image: Getty

Unmarried and child-free? You’re actually the happiest person in the world