CHILDLESSNESS

Childlessnessdescribes a person (or couple) who does not have

anychildren.
Itissometimesalsoduetopostponementofparenthood.

Itistherefore,Theconditionofbeingwithoutoffspring.

Causes Of Childlessness:1.

INFERTILITY( Involuntary):- Defined as the failure of a

womantoachievepregnancyorcarryachildtoterm,orofa
man to cause pregnancy, is regarded as the most prominent
reasonforinvoluntarychildlessness.

.Infantorchilddeath.
.Medicalorgynaecologicalproblems.
.Celibacy.
.Lackofappropriateresources(financial,community,etc.).
.Socialinfertility.

Voluntary childlessness
Childfreealso known asvoluntary childlessness, It is a form

ofchildlessness.
Voluntary childlessness is defined as people who are fertile

and do not intend to have children, people who have chosen

sterilization.
Italsoincludeswomenpastchildbearingagewhowerefertile

butchosenottohavechildren.

Research Paper 1:
TheGenderGapinAttitudesabout
ChildlessnessinUnitedStates.

 Acceptance of Childlessness
has increased since 1970s with
Abstract:

womenreportinggreateracceptancethanmen.
UsingNationalSurveyofFamilyandhouseholdsandGeneral

Social Survey gender gap related to both structural and socioculturalfactorswereexamined.

Womenstraditional attitudes aboutMarriage, Gender equality

andEmploymentarefewfactorswhicharepartiallyresponsible
forthis.
The findings highlight important differences in mens and

Womensexperiencesoffamilyandwork.

Problems Highlighted:
Gender Gap has increased in Attitudes about childlessness

leadingtodisharmonyamongcouples.
Women's employment and higher education play a very

significantroleleadingtochildlessness.
At least 30% of white women who have college degree or

highincomeprefertobechildless.(AmbaandJones,2005)
Public Acceptance is a major problem that has lead to

increaseinnumberofchildlesscouples.(Thornton,1989)

Interventions:AttheChild-Rearingstage,itisimportantfortheparentsto

incorporatetraditionalandfamilyvalueswithinthechildren,
sothatlatertheyvaluetraditionalrolesandresponsibilities.
Toavoidgapingenderattitudes,marriageshouldtakeplace

betweenindividualswhohavesimilarthoughtprocessto
avoiddisharmonylaterintheirmarriage.
Malecounterpartsshoulddevelopafeelingoftrustin

womenthattheywouldhelpthemthroughoutsothatwomen
developpositiveattitudesaboutmotherhood.

Research Paper 2:
BeyondParentalStatus:Psychological
well-beinginMiddleandOldAge

Abstract

Surveysshowlittleevidenceofpsychosocialdisadvantage

amongchildlessadults.
Thisarticleisanattempttounderstandthesubjectivewell-

beingamongchildlessadults.
Nationalsurveyoffamiliesisusedtotestbasisofattitudes

amongchildlessadults,parentchildrelationshipand
relationshipofthesetolonelinessanddepression.
Forchildlessadults,negativeattitudesaboutchildlessness

areassociatedwithgreaterdistressforwomenthanformen.

Problems Highlighted
LackofmajorPsychosocialdisadvantageleadstoacceptanceof

child-freeadultsinthesociety.
Childlessadultsfacepsychologicalissuesintheirliveslike

loneliness,depressionandmentalhealthissues.
Changesinfamilytiesincludingdivorce,remarriagehasascribed

negotiatedwaysinrelationships(Johnson,2005).ThereforeBlood
tiesdoesnotsignifyemotionalclosenesshencepositivityabout
beingchildfree.
Permanentchildlessnessoftheseadultswasoftenaconsequence

ofrepeatedfertilitydelays.

 Itsismajordistressforolderwomenthanmenastheyreevaluate

theirchildlessstatusatvariousstagesoftheirlives.Leadingto
feelingsof:a)

Regret.

b)

Loneliness.

c)

Depression.

. Social-Marginalization.
. Itsisseenmoreinwomenwho,
a)

Havelowereducationlevels.

b)

AreSeparated,Divorced,orWidowed.

c)

HavePoorHealth.

Interventions
Friendsandrelativesshouldencouragefamilyplanning

andshareownexperiencestoenhancepositivity.
Familycounselingandtherapycanbegiventoavoid

stressandanxiety.
Repeatedfertilitydelaysshouldbeavoidedtoprevent

permanentinfertility.
HealthfacilitiesshouldbefacilitatedbyGovernment

Hospitals.

 Research Paper 3:

ChildlessnessAmongOlderWomen
intheUnitedStates:Trendsand
Profiles

Abstract

Inthelasttwodecades,theUnitedstateshasseenanincrease

inchildlessnessatolderages.
UsingtheNationalSurveyofFamilyGrowth,itfocuseson

womenaged35-44whoarevoluntarilychildless.
Comparativestudytothosewhoareinvoluntarilychildless

andthosewhoaretemporarilychildless.
Voluntarychildlessnessgrewfrom1982(5%)to1988(8%)and

fellslightlyin2002(7%).
Voluntarilychildlesswomenhavethehighestincome,work

experience,andlowestreligiositycomparedtoothers.

Problems Highlighted
Percentageofolderwomenbeinginvoluntarychildless

aremorethanthemiddle-aged.
Womenaged35-44,seekvoluntarychildlessness,

thereforethesearewomenwhohavehighestincomeand
lowreligiosity.
MajorIssueremainsasthefactthatvoluntary

childlessnesshasalwaysbeenalargergroupthan
temporaryorinvoluntarychildlessness.

Interventions
Creatingawarenessinwomenofpsychosocial

advantagesofhavingacompletefamily.
Realizingtheimportanceofwomensabilityto

reproduceatearlystagesratherthanregretting
duringLateAdulthood.

References
1.

Korpopeck,T.,Pendell,G.(2008).TheGenderGapinAttitudes
AboutChildlessnessintheUnitedStates.Journal of Marriage
and Family,70, 859-915.

2.

Korpopeck,T.(2002).Beyondparentalstatus:psychological
Well-BeinginMiddleandOld-Age.Journal of Marriage and
Family,64, 957-971.

3.

Abma,J., Martinez,G.(2006). ChildlessnessAmongolder

womenintheUnitedstates:TrendsandProfiles.Journal of
Marriage and Family, 68, 1045-1056

ThankYou!!!