Voluntarily childless and parental couples: A comparison of their lifestyle characteristics

Choosing to be Childfree: Research on the Decision Not to Parent

“…Of course, the extent to which members of childfree groups share enough in common to support a continued movement remains to be seen. While research indicates that these groups have the capacity to draw wide appeal and that they have formed internationally (Basten 2009), it is possible that the heterogeneity of childfree organizations may make sustaining a larger movement challenging (see Basten 2009's discussion of Ramu 1985). In any case, this organized response to constructions of voluntary childlessness as deviant is certainly notable and is likely to gain increasing attention in the literature.…”

“…This however left no way to distinguish adults who did not have children but wished to from those who had made an intentional choice not to have them. Studies published in the 1980s show increasing use of the terms “voluntarily” and “intentionally” associated with chosen childlessness (Baum and Cope 1980; Barnett and MacDonald 1986; Bloom and Pebley 1982; Bram 1984; Calhoun 1980; Callan 1982, 1983, 1986; Den Bandt 1980; Feldman 1981; Ramu 1985).…”