Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Voluntary Versus Involuntary Childlessness

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Transition to Parenthood

  • 1532 Accesses

Abstract

There are various reasons for why some individuals and couples are childless. Although involuntary childlessness is not a choice, the postponement of parenthood and voluntary childlessness are often confused retrospectively. This chapter discusses the increase in postponed parenthood and some of the reasons this phenomenon has received so much attention. In addition, we explore voluntary and involuntary childlessness, the growing prevalence of infertility and alternative paths to parenthood. As the roles of men and women in our society are changing, both within and outside the family, we make suggestions for future research that can benefit all families.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 69.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 89.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Abbey, A., Andres, F., & Halman, L. (1991). Gender’s role in response to infertility. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 15, 295–316.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bachu, A. (1999). Is childlessness among American women on the rise. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0037/twps0037.html.

  • Baldo, A. J., & Baldo, T. D. (2003). A dual-career couple’s experience with adoption: The dramatic impact of moving from couple to instant parenthood. The Family Journal, 11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beckman, L. J., & Harvey, S. M. (2005). Current reproductive technologies: Increased access and choices? Journal of Social Issues, 61, 1–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berg, B. J., & Wilson, J. F. (1991). Psychological functioning across stages of treatment for infertility. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 14, 11–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berzin, S. C., & De Marco, A. C. (2010). Understanding the impact of poverty on critical events in emerging adulthood. Youth & Society, 42(2), 278–300.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell-Grossman, C., Hudson, D. B., Keating-Lefler, R., & Fleck, M. O. (2005). Community leaders’ perceptions of single, low-income mothers’ needs and concerns for social support. Journal of Community Health Nursing, 22(4), 241–257.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carter, J. W., & Carter, M. (1989). Sweet grapes: how to stop being infertile and start living again. Indianapolis: Perspectives Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2012). Reproductive health: infertility FAQ’s. Retrieved on June 15, 2012 from http://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/infertility/index.htm.

  • Chandra, A., Martinez, G. M., Mosher, W. D., Abma, J. C., & Jones, J. (2005). Fertility, family planning, and reproductive health of U.S. women: Data from the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth. National Statistics Reports (Series 23, No. 25). Hyattsville MD: National Center for Health Statistics.

    Google Scholar 

  • Connidis, I. A., & McMullin, J. A. (1993). To have or have not: Parents status and the subjective well-being of older men and women. The Gerontologist, 33, 630–636.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Connidis, I. A., & McMullin, J. A. (1996). Reasons for and perceptions of childlessness among older persons. Journal of Aging Studies, 10, 205–222.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cudmore, L. (2005). Becoming parents in the context of loss. Sexual and Relationship Therapy, 20(3), 299–308.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Daniluk, J. C. (1996). When treatment fails: the transition to biological childlessness for infertile women. Women & Therapy, 19, 81–98.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Daniluk, J. C. (2001). “If we had it to do over again…”: couples’ reflections on their experiences of infertility treatment. The Family Journal, 9, 122–133.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Daniluk, J. C., & Hurtig-Mitchell, J. (2003). Themes of hope and healing: Infertile couples’ experiences of adption. Journal of Counseling and Development, 81(4), 389.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Daniluk, J. C., & Tench, E. (2007). Long-term adjustment of infertile couples following unsuccessful medical intervention. Journal of Counseling and Development, 85(1), 89.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dion, K. K. (1995). Delayed parenthood and women’s expectations about the transition to parenthood. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 18(2), 315–333.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Durham, W., & Braithwaite, D. O. (2009). Communication privacy management within the family planning trajectories of voluntarily child-free couples. Journal of Family Communication, 9, 43–65.

    Google Scholar 

  • Edin, K., & Kefalas, M. J. (2005). Promises I can keep; why poor women put motherhood before marriage. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellwood, D. T., & Jencks, C. (2004). The spread of single-parent families in the United States since 1960. In D. P. Moynihan, L. Rainwater, & T. Smeeding (Eds.), The future of the family (pp. 25–65). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellwood, D. T., Wilde, T., & Batchelder, L. (2004). The mommy track divides: The impact of childbearing on wages of women of different skills levels. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frankel, S. A., & Wise, M. J. (1982). A view of delayed parenting: Some implications of a new trend. Psychiatry, 45, 220–225.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gibson-Davis, C. M. (2009). Money, marriage, and children: Testing the financial expectations and family formation theory. Journal of Marriage and Family, 71, 146–160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gillespie, R. (2003). Childree and feminine: Understanding the gender identity of voluntarily childless women. Gender and Society, 17(1), 122–136.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hird, M. J., & Abshoff, K. (2000). Women without children: A contradiction in terms? Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 31(3), 347–366.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ireland, M. S. (1993). Reconceiving women: motherhood from female identity. New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Issod, J. L. (1987). A comparison of “on-time” and “delayed” parenthood. American Mental Health Counselors Association Journal, 9(2), 92–97.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jeffries, S., & Konnert, C. (2002). Regret and psychological well-being among voluntarily and involuntarily childless women and mothers. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 54(2), 89–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, J. (2008). Adoption experiences of women and men and demand for shildren to adopt by women 18–44 in the United States, 2002. Vital and Health Statistics Series, 23(27), 1–36.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kemkes-Grottenthaler, A. (2003). Postponing or rejecting parenthood? Results of a survey among femal academic professionals. Journal of Biosocial Science, 35, 213–226.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koropeckyj-Cox, T., & Pendell, G. (2007a). Attitudes about childlessness in the United States: Correlates of positive, neutral, and negative responses. Journal of Family Issues, 28(8), 1054–1082.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koropeckyj-Cox, T., & Pendell, G. (2007b). The gender gap in attitudes about childlessness in the United States. Journal of Marriage and Family, 69(4), 899–915.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lachance-Grzela, M., & Bouchard, G. (2009). Marital status, pregnancy planning, and role overload: A mediated-moderation model of parenting satisfaction. Journal of Family Psychology, 23(5), 739–748.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lampman, C., & Dowling-Guyer, S. (1995). Attitudes toward voluntary and involuntary childlessness. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 17(1/2), 213–222.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leiblum, S. R. (1997). Love, sex, and infertility: The impact of infertility on couples. In S. R. Leiblum (Ed.), Infertility; psychological issues and counseling strategies (pp. 83–102). New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Letherby, G. (1999). Other than mother and mothers as others: The experience of motherhood and non-motherhood in relation to ‘infertility’ and ‘involuntary childlessness’. Women’s Studies International Forum, 22(3), 359–372.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levy-Schiff, R., Goldshmidt, I., & Har-Even, D. (1991). Transition to parenthood in adoptive families. Developmental Psychology, 27(1), 131–140.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacDorman, M. F., Kirmeyer, S. E., & Wilson, E. C. (2012). Fetal and perinatal mortality, United States, 2006. National Vital Statistics Reports, 60 (8). Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr60/nvsr60_08.pdf.

  • Malizia, B. A., Hacker, M. R., & Penzias, A. S. (2009). Cumulative live birth rates after in vitro fertilization. New England Journal of Medicine, 360, 236–243.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin, J. A., Hamilton, B. E., Sutton, P. D., Ventura, S. J., Menacker, F., Kirmeyer, S., & Mathews, T. J. (2009). Births: Final Data for 2006. National Vital Statistic Report, 57 (7). Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr57/nvsr57_07.pdf.

  • Martin, S. P. (2004). Delayed marriage and childbearing: Implications and measurement of diverging trends in family timing. In K. Neckerman (Ed.), Social inequality (pp. 79–119). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Matthews, A. M., & Matthews, R. (1986). Infertility and involuntary childlessness: The transition to nonparenthood. Journal of Marriage and Family, 48(3), 641–649.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKay, K., & Ross, L. E. (2010). The transition to adoptive parenthood: A pilot study of parents adopting in Ontario, Canada. Children and Youth Services Review, 32, 604–610.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Menning, B. E. (1977). Infertility: A guide for the childless couple. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morell, C. M. (1994). Unwomanly conduct: The challenges of intentional childlessness. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morgan, S. P., & Taylor, M. G. (2006). Low fertility at the turn of the twenty-first century. Annual Review of Sociology, 32, 375–399.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mulder, C. H. (2003). The effects of singlehood and cohabitation on the transition to parenthood in the Netherlands. Journal of Family Issues, 24(3), 291–313.

    Google Scholar 

  • Park, K. (2002). Stigma management among the voluntarily childless. Sociological Perspectives, 45(1), 21–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Park, K. (2005). Choosing childlessness: Weber’s typology of action and motives of the voluntarily childless. Sociology Inquiry, 75(3), 372–402. doi:10.1111/j.1475-682X.2005.00127.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paul, P. (2001). Childless by choice. American Demographics, 23, 45–50.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roosa, M. W. (1988). The effect of age in the transition to parenthood: Are delayed child bearers a unique group? Family Relations, 37(3), 322–327.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rowland, D. T. (2007). Historical trends in childlessness. Journal of Family Issues, 28(10), 1311–1337.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schlossberg, N. K., Waters, E. B., & Goodman, J. (1995). Counseling adults in transition: Linking practice to theory (2nd ed.). New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shaw, R. L. (2011). Women’s experiential journey toward voluntary childlessness: An interpretative phenomenological analysis. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 21, 151–163.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smock, P. J., & Greenland, F. R. (2010). Diversity in pathways to parenthood: Patterns, implications, and emerging research directions. Journal of Marriage and Family, 72(3), 576–593.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Soloway, N. M., & Smith, R. M. (1987). Antecedents of late birth timing decisions of men and women in dual-career marriages. Family Relations, 36, 358–362.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Te Velde, E. R., & Pearson, P. L. (2002). The variability of female reproductive ageing. Human Reproduction Update, 8, 141–154.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Teachman, J. D., & Polonko, K. A. (1985). Timings of the transition to parenthood: A multidimensional birth-interval approach. Journal of Marriage and Family, 47(4), 867–879.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thornton, A., & Young-DeMarco, L. (2001). Four decades of trends in attitudes toward family issues in the United States: The 1960s through the 1990s. Journal of Marriage and Family, 63, 1009–1038.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Census Bureau (2011). Census Bureau Reports “Delayer Boom” as more educated women have children later, Census Bureau Reports. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/fertility/cb11-83.html.

  • U.S. Census Bureau (2010). Fertility: fertility of American women 2010. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/hhes/fertility/data/cps/2010.html.

  • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) (2012). Infertility fact sheet. Office of Women’s Health. Retrieved on August 15, 2012 from http://www.womenshealth.gov/publications/our-publications/fact-sheet/infertility.html#c.

  • U.S. Department of State. (2011). FY 2011 annual report on intercountry adoption November 2011. Retrieved November 1, 2012 from http://adoption.state.gov/content/pdf/fy2011_annual_report.pdf.

  • van Balen, F. (2005). Late parenthood among subfertile and fertile couples: Motivations and educational goals. Patient Education and Counseling, 59, 276–282.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Veevers, J. E. (1973). Voluntarily childless wives: an exploratory study. Sociology and Social Research, 57, 356–366.

    Google Scholar 

  • Veevers, J. E. (1975). The moral careers of voluntarily childless wives: notes on the defense of a variant world view. The Family Coordinator, 24, 473–487.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Veevers, J. E. (1979). Voluntary childlessness: A review of issues and evidence. Marriage and Family Review, 2(2), 1–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weeden, J., Abrams, M. J., Green, M. C., & Sabini, J. (2006). Do high-status people really have fewer children? Education, income, and fertility in the contemporary U.S. Human Nature, 17(4), 377–392.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weir, K. N. (2003). Adoptive family “leap-frogging” patterns. Adoption Quarterly, 7(1), 27–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilkie, J. R. (1981). The trend toward delayed parenthood. Journal of Marriage and Family, 43, 583–591.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, California State University, Long Beach, Long Beach, CA, 90840-0501, USA

    Roudi Nazarinia Roy

  2. School of Family Studies and Human Services, Kansas State University, 317 Justin Hall, Manhattan, KS, 66506, USA

    Walter R. Schumm & Sonya L. Britt

Authors
  1. Roudi Nazarinia Roy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Walter R. Schumm
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Sonya L. Britt
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Roudi Nazarinia Roy .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Nazarinia Roy, R., Schumm, W.R., Britt, S.L. (2014). Voluntary Versus Involuntary Childlessness. In: Transition to Parenthood. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7768-6_3

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation