Childfree в репродуктивных стратегиях саратовской молодежи

Abstract

The intensification of the process of depopulation of the population in Russia, the demographic crisis, exacerbated by the pandemic, actualize the importance of the sociological analysis of reproductive behavior “childfree”, especially considering this from the point of view of the prospects of social and family policy of the state. Childfree is interpreted as a voluntary refusal of individuals, married couples from childbearing. According to the results of an empirical study by the method of questioning Saratov youth (the volume of the quota sample was 486 respondents), it is shown that the modern transformation of reproductive relations and parenthood in modern society has led to the fact that voluntary childlessness is not considered as a social deviation and does not act as a basis for conflict in society. The sexual, gender characteristics of young childfree adherents are analyzed. Objective factors (high level of education, median income, nonreligiosity) that contribute to the development of this strategy are revealed. For them, cohabitation and celibacy act as the most comfortable ways of organizing everyday life, although they do not deny the traditional form of marriage. In a pregnancy situation, they are prone to abortion. Children in the representations of childfree supporters are associated primarily with difficulty, fear, loss of freedom, forced denial of material comfort, risk, suffering. Hostility to the children was not revealed. Most of all, they are frightened by great responsibility (91.9%), which demonstrates not so much selfishness as fears of being untenable in this regard