A kid is a great ice-breaker. He's also a companion who's forced to hang out with you.
Research supports the idea that many people are driven to parenthood by a desire for social connection.
Scientists at the University of Helsinki compared the temperaments of nearly 2,000 young Finns at two time points nine years apart and noted how many children they had in that period. Highly sociable people were more likely than others to breed, even after controlling for their increased chances of finding partners.
Lead researcher Markus Jokela guesses that sociable people find the parent-child bond more attractive. Also, parenthood can expose you to more opportunities for interaction—with family, other parents, neighbors. "Being a parent is quite a public social role," he says. Collaborator Liisa Keltikangas-Jaervinen notes that extroverts' desire for such a role is not always consciously strategic. "They enjoy children. They don't think that the children somehow help them."
