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Boker Gonen T, Bachner YG, Slonim-Nevo V. The Way Older Childless Women Value Their Life-A Qualitative Study. Behav Sci (Basel) 2024; 14:418. [PMID: 38785909 PMCID: PMC11117919 DOI: 10.3390/bs14050418] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2024] [Revised: 05/13/2024] [Accepted: 05/14/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Older women without children, like all older adults, evaluate their lives and face a conflict between despair and ego integrity as proposed by Erikson's theory of development. Their uniqueness lies in their deviation from the societal norm of parenthood prevalent in pro-natalist societies such as Israel. This study aims to explore how older childless women evaluate their lives. Using a qualitative approach, 20 semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with women over 60 years of age who do not have children. Three main themes emerged from the participants' responses: their experiences as women without children in a pro-natalist society, the significance of freedom in their lives, and their life experiences from conflicting perspectives-an internal and external locus of control. The study's findings demonstrate that older childless women adeptly utilize different perspectives across various aspects of their lives, contributing to ego integrity, contrary to the prevailing societal notion that in the absence of children, women are damaged and lack identity. It is conceivable that other segments of the older adult population, diverging from mainstream societal norms, may similarly leverage these different perspectives to uphold their ego.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tom Boker Gonen
- M.A Program in Gerontology, School of Public Health, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheba 8410501, Israel;
| | - Yaacov G. Bachner
- M.A Program in Gerontology, School of Public Health, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheba 8410501, Israel;
| | - Vered Slonim-Nevo
- The Charlotte B. and Jack J. Spitzer Department of Social Work, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheba 8410501, Israel;
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2
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Lemke J, Mollen D, Buzolits JS. Sterilized and Satisfied: Outcomes of Childfree Sterilization Obtainment and Denials. PSYCHOLOGY OF WOMEN QUARTERLY 2023. [DOI: 10.1177/03616843231164069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/29/2023]
Abstract
As more women choose to forgo motherhood, childfree women and people assigned female at birth (AFAB) are important to study, particularly given pronatalist ideals that can make the choice not to have children difficult to exercise. Although temporary contraception prevents motherhood, physicians sometimes discourage or deny women access to more permanent options, including sterilization, due to their belief that childfree women and those AFAB will regret their decision. From a reproductive justice framework, we examined psychological outcomes of sterilization approval and denials among a sample of 154 childfree women and nonbinary people AFAB who sought and either obtained or were denied sterilization. Participants completed measures of psychological well-being, self-esteem, and sexual quality of life. Childfree participants who obtained sterilization reported higher self-esteem, better sexual quality, and higher well-being than childfree individuals who were denied the procedure. Neither age nor time since making the sterilization request accounted for the differences between the groups in terms of sexual quality of life and psychological well-being. Collectively, these findings offer the first empirical evidence of the potential outcomes among childfree women seeking sterilization.
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3
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Revealing Gender Double Standards in the Parenthood Norm Depends on Question Order. SEX ROLES 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s11199-022-01276-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
AbstractBecoming a parent has been described as a dominant social norm, especially for women. Though some research has indicated changes toward more flexible gendered parenthood norms, methodological issues may be masking the continued presence of a gender double standard. In line with the condition for activation of double standards, we postulated that endorsement of the parenthood norm would vary depending on the response context. Our aim was to analyze the parenthood norm for women and for men taking into account the response context in a quantitative survey. In a French nationally-representative sample, more than 4,000 female and male adults were asked whether a woman/man can have a fulfilled life without having children in two questions presented in a random order. Based on the literature on question-order effects, the answer to the first question should be influenced by the participant’s personal background (e.g., gender, parental status), i.e., the personal background context, whereas the question asked second should be influenced by the comparison with the first question, i.e. the social relational context. In the personal background context, the own-gender parenthood norm was endorsed more strongly than the other-gender parenthood norm by both female and male participants. In contrast, in the social relational context, the parenthood norm for women was endorsed more strongly than the parenthood norm for men by both female and male participants. Our results showed a strong gender double standard observed only in the comparative context and illustrates the need to use appropriate survey methodology to examine the presence of gendered social norms.
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Tate DP. United States Normative Attitudes for Pursuing Parenthood as a Function of Gender, Sexual Orientation, and Age. Front Psychol 2022; 12:772252. [PMID: 35069352 PMCID: PMC8766332 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.772252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2021] [Accepted: 12/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Decisions about whether or not to become a parent are significant parts of normative human development. Many studies have shown that married different-sex couples are expected to become parents, and that many social pressures enforce this norm. For same-sex couples, however, much less is known about social norms surrounding parenthood within marriage. This study examined injunctive norms and descriptive norms for the pursuit of parenthood as a function of age, gender, and sexual orientation. Participants in an internet survey included 1020 (522 heterosexual, 498 lesbian/gay) cisgender people from across the United States Findings showed that norms, especially descriptive norms, for the pursuit of parenthood for heterosexual people were much stronger than those for lesbian women and gay men, and that norms for lesbian women were stronger than those for gay men. These differences were more pronounced for older, heterosexual, and male participants. However, lesbian and gay participants, especially gay men, reported that lesbian and gay people ought to become parents to the same extent as heterosexual people. Overall, the results indicated that, regardless of sexual orientation, adults report that lesbian and gay married people ought to become parents, but that they expect only a minority of these couples will pursue parenthood. This research provided a glimpse into how Americans are envisioning family formation among same-sex couples today.
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Affiliation(s)
- Doyle P. Tate
- Department of Psychology, Penn State Scranton, Dunmore, PA, United States
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Kuipers YJ, Beeck EV, Cijsouw A, van Gils Y. The impact of motherhood on the course of women's psychological wellbeing. JOURNAL OF AFFECTIVE DISORDERS REPORTS 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jadr.2021.100216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
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6
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Inconceivable: South African Lesbians Talking about Being Voluntary Childfree. SEX ROLES 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s11199-020-01132-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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7
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Verniers C. Behind the maternal wall: The hidden backlash toward childfree working women. JOURNAL OF THEORETICAL SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/jts5.65] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
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8
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Palmer E. The “empty womb” in the therapy room? The taboo and potency of the other than mother/childfree body. PSYCHOTHERAPY AND POLITICS INTERNATIONAL 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/ppi.1508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Emma Palmer
- Member of Psychotherapists and Counsellors for Social Responsibility UK
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Hayfield N, Terry G, Clarke V, Ellis S. “Never Say Never?” Heterosexual, Bisexual, and Lesbian Women’s Accounts of Being Childfree. PSYCHOLOGY OF WOMEN QUARTERLY 2019. [DOI: 10.1177/0361684319863414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Feminist scholars have identified a “motherhood imperative” in Western cultures, when heterosexual women are understood to both want and to have children. However, social shifts have resulted in a decrease in pronatalism as well as an increase in social recognition of the parenting desires of same-sex parents. Despite a resurgence of interest in childfree identities, research to date has predominantly focused on heterosexual women’s explanations for being childfree and their experiences of marginalization. Our aim in the current study was to explore how childfree heterosexual, lesbian, bisexual, and queer women negotiate their childfree lives and identities in the context of their personal and social relationships within changing cultural contexts. Data from 23 interviews with women in the United Kingdom, who responded to a call for childfree participants, were thematically analyzed. We constructed two themes: (1) Never say never? Negotiating being childfree as ever precarious, which shows how women constructed being childfree as requiring constant revisiting and renegotiating to maintain and (2) An ordinary life: Constructing being childfree as rational and reasonable, in which we identify the rhetorical efforts of participants to establish their being childfree as an ordinary, reasonable, and rational position. We conclude that for these women, childfreedom was constantly in flux and that maintaining a positive childfree identity required considerable identity work in order to manage intimate personal relationships and wider friendships. Online slides for instructors who want to use this article for teaching are available on PWQ's website at http://journals.sagepub.com/page/pwq/suppl/index
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikki Hayfield
- Department of Health and Social Sciences, University of the West of England (UWE), Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Gareth Terry
- School of Clinical Sciences, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Victoria Clarke
- Department of Health and Social Sciences, University of the West of England (UWE), Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Sonja Ellis
- School of Education, The University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand
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Carli LL, Anzelmo E, Pozzi S, Feeney JA, Gallucci M, Santona A, Tagini A. Attachment Networks in Committed Couples. Front Psychol 2019; 10:1105. [PMID: 31156517 PMCID: PMC6527899 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2018] [Accepted: 04/29/2019] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
This study explored attachment networks in committed couples who differed in parenting choice and relationship status. Attachment networks were defined in terms of attachment functions, attachment strength, the presence of a primary figure, and full-blown attachments. Participants were 198 couples, married or cohabiting, either expecting their first child or childless-by-choice. Results indicated that participants relied most strongly on partners for all attachment functions except secure base, for which they relied on mothers to a similar extent. Furthermore, expectant women reported more proximity seeking and stronger attachments to mothers, while expectant men relied more on fathers for safe haven. Married participants indicated less proximity seeking to partners than cohabiting couples, and married women reported less reliance on partners for safe haven than married men and cohabiting women. This study supports previous findings underlining the particular importance of partners for members of committed couples. Further, it extends past research by showing the robustness of this finding across parenting choice, and by revealing gender differences in the attachment networks of committed couples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucia L Carli
- Department of Psychology, University of Milan-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Elena Anzelmo
- Department of Psychology, University of Milan-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Stefania Pozzi
- Department of Psychology, University of Milan-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Judith A Feeney
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | | | | | - Angela Tagini
- Department of Psychology, University of Milan-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
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Certainty as social justice: Understanding childless academic women's reproductive decisiveness. WOMENS STUDIES INTERNATIONAL FORUM 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.wsif.2019.03.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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12
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“Why Would You Want a Baby When You Could Have a Dog?” Voluntarily Childless Women’s “Peternal” Feelings, Longing and Ambivalence. SOCIAL SCIENCES 2019. [DOI: 10.3390/socsci8040126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
This article explores voluntarily childless women’s experiences and understandings of human-animal interactions and their attitudes towards companion animals. It draws on interviews with 15 Swedish women who expressed a lack of “maternal” feelings and therefore had remained voluntarily childless, or childfree (used here as two interchangeable concepts). Instead, the women described how they perceived the attachment bonds to companion animals that they had developed as similar to, or even superior to, the attachments bonds between parents and their children. The article thus introduces the expressions “peternal”, and “peternal feelings”, to denote these women’s attachment bonds to companion animals (primarily cats and dogs). The results, however, also illustrate that few of the women actually took on the role as “pet parent”. Although they longed to develop attachment bonds with companion animals, they were conflicted and experienced ambivalence, leading to decisions to develop avoidance strategies, resembling those involved in the childfree decision. Hence, many of them described themselves as both childfree and “petfree”.
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