Attitudes about Childlessness and Infertility Treatments: A Comparison of Turkish and American University Students

Abstract

Studies of contemporary attitudes about childlessness and infertility have focused mainly on highly industrialized countries, with less attention to developing countries like Turkey. This project explored attitudes about childlessness and infertility treatments and their interrelations among university students, who are often the forerunners of new attitudes and social change, in Turkey (N = 850) and the United States (Florida; N = 761). Turkish students, especially men, reported more negative attitudes about permanent childlessness and reported more positive attitudes about ethics and availability of infertility treatments. Students in Florida had more favorable attitudes toward childlessness and supported broader social access to infertility treatments (e.g., for those who were unmarried or who had chosen to delay childbearing). Women in both samples generally reported more positive attitudes about childlessness and the ethics and availability of infertility treatments than men. In addition, Turkish students who were female, from urban areas, or who aspired to a doctoral education reported more positive attitudes about childlessness than others. Regression analyses of pooled data confirmed persistent gender and country differences. In both samples, positive attitudes about childlessness were correlated with support for broader social access to infertility treatments. The results suggest that infertility treatments are viewed as a means for avoiding childlessness by those with traditional perspectives, but are seen as a mechanism for allowing for broader social access to parenthood and greater choice about reproduction among those with less traditional viewpoints.