University Students’ Perceptions of Parents and Childless or Childfree Couples

Abstract

Earlier studies have documented persistent negative stereotypes of childless or childfree adults, though acceptance has increased in recent decades. Recent studies have also shown negative biases against parents, especially mothers, in work-related contexts. The current study used college students’ responses to hypothetical vignettes (N = 1,266) to compare perceptions of childless and childfree adults and parents using means comparisons with generalized linear modeling methods, controlling for student and vignette characteristics. Results showed that parents were perceived as warmer, but with less positive marital relationships, than those without children. Mothers were perceived as more stressed and childless men and women as more emotionally troubled, but there were few differences in work-related perceptions. Childless wives with no plans to have children were perceived as least warm, whereas husbands were perceived as least stressed. Results indicate some persistent negative stereotypes of childless adults along with negative perceptions of stress and marital strains related to parenthood.

Psychological and pedagogical potential of life orientations of spouses with various dominant marital behavior

“…childless adults, although their acceptance has increased in recent decades. Negative biases «against parents, especially mothers, are particularly important in the context of work» (Koropeckyj-Cox et al, 2018).…”

Development of Attitudes Toward Voluntary Childlessness Scale and Its Associations With Ambivalent Sexism in Turkey

“…Thus, people from every age may have similar attitudes toward the necessity of children in Turkish culture. They may value children (Kağıtçıbaşı & Ataca, 2005; Koropeckyj-Cox et al, 2018), and perceive children as providing love and completeness in families (Kağıtçıbaşı, 1982).…”

“…First of all, negative biases against childfree people have been a very popular topic in the childlessness literature. Previous studies demonstrated that voluntarily childless women are perceived as more negative than mothers (Koropeckyj-Cox, Çopur, Romano, & Cody-Rydzewski, 2018 [the United States]; LaMastro, 2001 [the United States]; Lampman & Dowling-Guyer, 1995 [the United States]) or involuntarily childless women (Kopper & Smith, 2001 [the United States]; Lampman & Dowling-Guyer, 1995). Similarly, Bays (2017) recently found that American mothers and involuntarily childless women were rated as warmer than competent, whereas childfree women were rated as more competent than warm.…”

“…Studies from different disciplines (Letherby, 2002; Park, 2002) have shown that parenthood and childbearing are considered as an inevitable and appropriate outcome of adult life in many countries. That is, people value children and perceive that having children is necessary for being a family (Forsyth, 1999 [the United States]), for a happy family and a meaningful life (Kağıtçıbaşı & Ataca, 2005 [Turkey]; Koropeckyj-Cox et al, 2018 [the United States]). In the value of children study in Turkish culture, Kağıtçıbaşı (1982) asked participants to rate the importance they attributed to psychological (e.g., pleasure watching children grow), economic/material/utilitarian (e.g., children can help when you are old), and social/traditional (e.g., carrying on the family name) reasons for wanting a child.…”

No life without family: Film representations of involuntary childlessness, silence and exclusion

“…I further hypothesized that they would be either passive and marginalized victimsthis would also fit previously referred to literature on childlessness and stigmaor active characters whose behaviour is morally reprehensible. By relying on research on perceptions of the childless (Calhoun and Selby 1980;Letherby 2002;Koropeckyj-Cox et al 2015) I further expected characters without children to be portrayed as cold, immature, selfish, career-oriented and emotionally troubled.…”