When men choose to be childless: An interpretative phenomenological analysis

Abstract

A growing number of individuals expressly choose to remain childless, yet research exploring these intentions in men remains scarce. This study examines the experiences, subjective reasoning, and decision-making processes of voluntarily childless Australian men near the median age for first-time fatherhood. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 Australian-resident men (28–34 years; M = 31; SD = 1.48). Participants were selected from the Men and Parenting Pathways longitudinal cohort study ( N = 609) based on having stated they did not want to have children “at all.” Data were collected and analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Analysis identified a superordinate theme; Fatherhood: The door is still ajar, which was marked by the men’s reluctance to unequivocally commit to a childless future. Subordinate themes were The Realization, The Talk (or lack of…), The Rationale, and The Pressure. At the normative age for transitioning to parenthood, role choices are salient. Overall, men’s decision-making process to not have children appears to be fluid and influenced by intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Despite changing social trends and acceptance of divergent life trajectories, these men are acutely aware that their intentions place them outside the norm. In policy and practice, it is important to recognize the changing norms around fatherhood timing and support voluntarily childless men and couples in constructing their identities, life course, incongruent decisions, and relationships.

Life Stories of Voluntarily Childless Older People: A Retrospective View on Their Reasons and Experiences

“…All these insights fit within the so-called risk discourse, in which humanitarian and ecological risks can also play a role (Moore, 2017;Peterson, 2015). It also matches with a similar profile description discussed by Smith et al (2020), albeit among younger men.…”

“…Second, regarding reasons for childlessness, four profiles of voluntarily childless older people can be distinguished from the data. Nevertheless, these profiles and their meaning are not completely new: preferring a career to family life (Ireland, 1993;Rybińska & Morgan, 2019), not following the norm by rejecting fixed gender roles (Ireland, 1993) and having a critical view on society (Smith et al, 2020), having a partner who would rather not have children (Riggs & Bartholomaeus, 2016;Veevers, 1980) and, due to circumstances, finding it too late to have children (Rowlands & Lee, 2006;Stahnke et al, 2020) were already discussed in older and new existing research on voluntary childlessness (in general, not only among older adults).…”

“…Deindl and Brandt (2017) state that "childlessness may, for example, result from a free decision or it might be the involuntary consequence of not having a partner or due to biological problems" (p. 1545), making a distinction between voluntary and involuntary childlessness. With regard to the reasons for voluntary childlessness in general, there are several reasons for childlessness among younger people that are expected to be reflected in this study as well: one may prefer a career to a family (Ireland, 1993;Rybińska & Morgan, 2019), the choice may have been made in agreement with the partner (Riggs & Bartholomaeus, 2016;Veevers, 1980), one may be skeptical about society, resulting in a preference not to have children (Ireland, 1993;Smith et al, 2020), or there may be external circumstances leading to the permanent postponement of children (Rowlands & Lee, 2006;Stahnke et al, 2020).…”

Cohort profile: the Men and Parenting Pathways (MAPP) Study: a longitudinal Australian cohort study of men’s mental health and well-being at the normative age for first-time fatherhood

“…Some men elect to remain childfree. 36 Others are without children for other reasons including biological obstacles. 37 The psychosocial well-being and mental health risks of these men are not well understood and are also investigated within the MAPP Study.…”

“…73 The second qualitative study examined the experiences and decision-making processes of 11 MAPP participants who reported an absolute intention to remain childless in survey responses and yet whose plans were more equivocal when interviewed. 36 The MAPP cohort includes participants from a diverse range of backgrounds and socioeconomic strata, with considerable demographic similarities to men of the same age. However, MAPP underrepresents men of the same age born outside of Australia and at baseline had higher rates of paid employment than the Australian population.…”