Women's views on childbearing changing

Using data from two national surveys, researchers at the University of Florida in Gainesville found that women had more positive views of childlessness than men did.

Women were two thirds more likely than men to disagree with the idea that childless people "lead empty lives," and were twice as likely to disagree with the notion that childbearing is the "purpose" of marriage.

White women were most likely to look favourably on childlessness, followed by black women. Men of all races were less likely to have such positive views.

"The results suggest that women may be more open to the possibility of remaining childless compared to men," lead study author Dr. Tanya Koropeckyj-Cox said in a statement.

She and colleague Dr. Gretchen Pendell report the findings in the Journal of Marriage and Family.

The researchers based the results on responses from two US surveys that sampled a total of 12 043 adults. Respondents answered questions on their views of marriage, family, gender roles and religion, among other things.

Among adults younger than 40, women were 80 percent more likely than men to have a positive view of childlessness. This gender gap was "particularly wide" among adults with a college education, the researchers report.

In general, women had less traditional views than men did when it came to marriage, gender roles and mothers' working outside the home. But these differences only partially explained women's greater acceptance of childlessness, according to the researchers.

Instead, Koropeckyj-Cox said, women's acceptance of childlessness "may reflect their own experiences or the struggles of their sisters, friends, and co-workers in balancing the conflicting expectations and timelines of family and work."

She and Pendell do point out, however, that women who are open to remaining childless should not be viewed as anti-child. They are simply accepting of childlessness as "one possible life path," the researchers note.

"Most Americans still value children and childbearing, and few adults express highly critical views of parenthood," they write.


Source : Babynet