Involuntarily childless men and the desire for fatherhood

Abstract

Objective. This study aims to explore the experience of childless men and the desire for fatherhood. Background. There is little research exploring the desire for fatherhood, with most studies concentrating on couples in infertility treatment. Of those, the majority focus on the women's experience, a factor that may reflect the gender stereotype and cultural identification of childlessness to women. Methods. A qualitative approach was adopted. A convenience sample of 10 biologically childless men were recruited through the snowball method and interviewed individually. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and transcripts were then analysed using Grounded Theory. Results. A core category, 'Lifescape's of childless men: enduring anticipation and expectation in an uncharted world', divided into three meta themes: Emotive Forces, Extant Agency, and Life Course. The desire for parenthood appeared to peak in the 30s, gradually reduced, but did not cease. The participants also revealed a sense of 'outsiderness' in familial, social, and work relationships. Conclusion. Involuntarily childless men reported similar experiences to those in, or who have had, infertility treatment. These included a sense of loss, depression, exclusion, isolation, and risk-taking behaviour. Over the life course the men also found ways to adapt and reappraise their beliefs concerning themselves emotionally, psychologically and socially. To help understand this process, gender-role therapy is presented as a possible approach for working with childless men.

Infertility and assisted reproduction technologies through a gender lens

“…Only a few studies take into account gender specific experiences of infertility (e.g. Glover, McLellan, & Weaver, 2009;Hadley & Hanley, 2011;Hjelmstedt et al, 1999;Johnson & Johnson, 2009;Pasch et al, 2002;Perkins, 2006;Peterson et al, 2006;Shapiro, 2009;and Slepičková, 2009).…”

Psychological and social aspects of infertility in men: an overview of the evidence and implications for psychologically informed clinical care and future research

“…4 Stereotypically, women are presumed to desire children and therefore to experience grief when the life goal of motherhood is unrealized, but men, having more diverse life opportunities, have been described as being 'disappointed but not devastated' by the inability to have a child. 5 There are few population-based investigations of the desire to have children among men.…”

Childbearing motivational patterns of primiparous women of advanced age and their partners

“…The 'realistic childbearing motivational pattern' was more frequent among men who reported a higher deviation from child-timing expectations. Circumstances that interfere with childbearing may enhance men's re-evaluation of its positive meanings, by challenging the ability to protect family heritage and achieve masculine roles (Hadley & Hanley, 2011), but may simultaneously increase the perceived demands during pregnancy (Gameiro, Moura-Ramos, Canavarro, & Soares, 2010).…”