Childlessness Intentions and Ideals in Europe

Anneli Miettinen,Ivett Szalma

doi:10.23979/fypr.48419

Abstract

Using data from Eurobarometer Surveys 2001–2011 we examine trends and correlates of childlessness intentions and ideals across Europe over the past decade. We distinguish childlessness as a personal preference (personal ideal number of children is zero) from intended childlessness (intention to have no children) as these reflect somewhat different dimensions of childlessness as a conscious decision. We find that, on average, childlessness as a personal preference is relatively rare in Europe, although in some western European countries a sizeable proportion of young adults express a desire to have no children. Intentional childlessness is slightly more common than ideal childlessness is, since about 11% of currently childless young adults aged 18 to 40 years in Europe intend to have no children. We analyse factors related to childlessness intentions and ideals on the individual and country levels. A weaker individual socioeconomic position influences the intention to remain childless through various channels, such as unemployment or low socioeconomic status. Associations between individual’s social position and ideal childlessness are less clear. Results also indicate that macro-economic conditions do not have a direct impact on intentional childlessness, whereas a higher prevalence of traditional family values in a country is related to a lower likelihood of individuals considering childlessness to be their ideal family form.

Highlights

An increasing number of studies focus on low fertility or postponement of childbearing in contemporary Europe, studies on childlessness remain scarce
We explore the association of several indicators of individuals’ socioeconomic position on intended and ideal childlessness and investigate whether poorer social and economic resources correlate with voluntary childlessness
Results showed that for most young Europeans childlessness is not based on a deliberate intention or desire to remain childless, but on a temporary postponement of parenthood for various reasons

Summary

Introduction

An increasing number of studies focus on low fertility or postponement of childbearing in contemporary Europe, studies on childlessness remain scarce. Studies from the Netherlands, the UK, US, and Germany, for instance, show that childlessness among women aged 45 or above is close to 20% for cohorts born in the end of the 1960s (Dye 2010; Frejka 2008; Rowland 2007; Smallwood 2002). In the younger cohorts, who have not yet passed their reproductive ages, childlessness has increased considerably in the past two decades, reaching over 40% for women and 60% for men in their early thirties in some European countries (Miettinen et al 2014). Many of the currently childless young adults will go on to have children later, panel studies have shown that a considerable proportion of such “postponers” fail to realize their reproductive plans (Spéder & Kapitàny 2014; Szalma & Takàcs 2012; Lainiala 2012)

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Conclusion