Childlessness and Parenthood in Two Centuries

Abstract

The article focuses on findings that were replicated across several countries and considers their relevance for future older adults. Key findings are that (a) childlessness makes more of a difference in men's than in women's lives, (b) never-married women are a childless category with particularly favorable characteristics, and (c) childless people face support deficits only toward the end of life. In future cohorts, the authors expect to see (a) clearer contrasts between childless men and fathers, given indications that men are being more strongly selected into parenthood; (b) diminished differences between childless women and mothers, given the improved conditions for combining work and care; (c) fewer differences in reliance on formal support between older people with and without children, given the increased levels of education and material resources; and (d) that involuntary childlessness will be all the more distressing, given that a chosen life path has been blocked.

Life Outcomes of Childless Men and Fathers

“…Previous research has consistently shown that permanent childlessness is associated with strong socio-economic positions for women, especially the never married (Dykstra and Hagestad, 2007a). Our findings show an opposite pattern for men; those with children have stronger economic positions than those who have remained childless.…”

“…Fourth, fatherhood shapes men's lives via social control, as the role of father entails certain obligations. By law, parents must not only provide their children with the essentials of daily living such as food and shelter, but also provide socialization for their children's future adult lives (Dykstra and Hagestad, 2007a). There are socially shared expectations about proper behaviour of fathers.…”

Can public policies sustain fertility in the Nordic countries?

“…Moreover, after becoming a father, they also more often have children with more than one partner, which indicates that they are more at risk of union separation and divorce. This has implications for the challenges related to an aging population, as childless and single men have been found to be particularly disadvantaged with regard to health and the support potential of their networks (Dykstra and Hagestad 2007). Since children and close family remain a critical source of help for frail old people, (Attias-Donfut, Ogg, and Wolff 2005) this inevitably implies an increased demand for care services and extra pressure on public budgets in the future.…”

Fertility trends and differentials in the Nordic countries – Footprints of welfare policies and challenges on the road ahead

“…One aspect of this development is a stronger increase in childlessness among men than among women in younger Norwegian and Swedish cohorts (Statistics Sweden 2002;Skrede 2004). The challenges may thus be even stronger than judged by the development of the fertility trends for the female cohorts, as childless men have been found to be particularly disadvantaged with regard to health and the support potential of their networks (Dykstra and Hagestad 2007).…”