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Orientations Towards Voluntary Childlessness

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2008

Frances E. Baum
Frances E. Baum
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, University of Nottingham
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Summary

This paper reports on a study of decision-making among voluntarily childless couples that was conducted in Britain. The discussion is based on evidence from an intensive interview survey with 38 childless husbands and wives. Four main orientations towards childlessness have been delineated, hedonistic, idealistic, emotional and practical. These are based on the decision-making processes childless couples go through. Each orientation is described, showing that childless individuals can differ markedly in their attitude towards not having children and in their values and ideas about life in general. It is maintained that these differences are important in understanding the complexities of voluntary childlessness and can have practical value in studying aspects of the phenomenon, such as forecasting changes in the pattern of childlessness.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 15 , Issue 2 , April 1983 , pp. 153 - 164
Copyright
Copyright © 1983, Cambridge University Press

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