Rates Of Childlessness Research Articles

Why don’t former female athletes have kids? Exploring career and post-career paths in elite sport in Switzerland

Female elite athletes are less likely than male elite athletes to have children during their careers, in part because of the difficulty of balancing motherhood and elite sports. Does this childlessness gap disappear or persist in the post-career period? What factors determine the childlessness of former athletes? The article presents the results of a quantitative cross-sectional study of 1255 former elite athletes who participated in at least one national competition in their discipline and reside in Switzerland. The results indicate that women are more likely than men to remain childless in the post-career years, and that they are also more likely than women in the general population to remain childless. The analyses point to the importance of the gendered orientation of sport socialization (for instance, essentialist representations, valorization of masculinity) in understanding ex-athletes’ relationship to parenthood and in explaining their childlessness. Examining the phenomenon of childlessness reveals that socialization of athletes in gendered sport leaves traces on their representations and practices that are visible even after their careers have ended. In particular, women who have experienced the most inverted gender socialization by playing a male sport have the highest rate of childlessness.

Bevaikystė ir požiūris į rūpinimąsi vyresnio amžiaus tėvais Lietuvoje

In rapidly ageing societies, caring and responsibilities for parents in old age is a widely discussed topic. This is particularly relevant in societies with low fertility and high rates of childlessness. Lithuania is one of the countries where demographic ageing rates have risen sharply in a short period of time. This process has been driven not only by low fertility but also by emigration of middle-aged and young people and increasing life expectancy. There is no lack of research on demographic changes in ageing societies in the country, but very little is known about the attitudes of childless men and women towards caring for their parents in old age. The aim of the study is to determine the attitudes of childless and child-bearing individuals towards parental responsibilities in Lithuania. Our analysis is based on the 2018-2019 ‘Families and Inequality Survey’ dataset collected in Lithuania. The data covers 3,005 individuals aged 34-48 at the time of the survey. The representative sample was obtained by using a stratified sampling method. Face-to-face interviews were carried out with respondents in their homes by using a standardized questionnaire. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and chi-square methods. We found that the proportion of men (12.0%) who do not want to have children is statistically significantly higher (p=0.003) than the proportion of women (7.6%). We found that childless people were less likely than those with children to agree with the statement that children should look after their parents. In addition, women were more likely than men to agree with these statements. Our findings are important from a practical point of view – when considering social care and pronatalist policy measures. Research project is financially supported by the Research Council of Lithuania (LMTLT), agreement No. P-MIP-22-24.

Childlessness, Social Network Profiles in Midlife and Late Adulthood, and Their Implications for Subjective Well-Being.

Despite the rising prevalence of individuals reaching advanced age without children, little is known about the diversity of support networks within childless populations. We examine the network profiles of childless adults aged 50+ in Singapore, which observes high childlessness rates despite societal emphasis on familism. We employ latent class analysis to derive network typology based on a 2022 nationwide survey in Singapore. Additionally, we use logistic regression analyses to investigate the sociodemographic correlates of childless individuals' network types and the associations between these network types and subjective well-being. Childless Singaporeans form a heterogeneous group characterized by different support networks. Evidence suggests the centrality of parents in the childless' social networks and the continuity of parent-child support exchanges that extend into the child's midlife and late adulthood. When parents are absent, siblings/extended kin serve as their support sources. Age, sibship size, and socioeconomic status are key correlates of network types. Membership in diverse networks is beneficial to the subjective well-being of childless individuals. Although one-fifth of childless individuals in restricted networks demonstrate significantly poorer well-being, the remaining four-fifths show comparable, if not better, well-being than the non-childless. Results underscore the importance of differentiating network types among the childless, particularly when assessing their well-being. Contrary to the notion of associating later-life childlessness with social isolation and vulnerabilities, many childless Singaporeans manage to construct non-child-based networks equipped with various supportive relations that cater to their needs. Nevertheless, persistent vulnerabilities among restricted network members deserve policymakers' attention.

Patterns of reproductive health in inflammatory rheumatic diseases and other immune-mediated diseases: a nationwide registry study.

Rheumatic diseases may impair reproductive success and pregnancy outcomes, but systematic evaluations across diseases are lacking. We conducted a nationwide cohort study to examine the impact of rheumatic diseases on reproductive health measures, comparing the impacts with those of other immune-mediated diseases (IMDs). Out of all of the 5 339 804 Finnish citizens, individuals born 1964-1984 and diagnosed with any of the 19 IMDs before age 30 (women) or 35 (men) were matched with 20 controls by birth year, sex, and education. We used data from nationwide health registers to study the impact of IMDs on reproductive health measures, such as reproductive success and, for women, ever having experienced adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes. Several of the rheumatic diseases, particularly SLE, JIA, and seropositive RA, were associated with higher rates of childlessness and fewer children. The risks for pre-eclampsia, newborns being small for gestational age, preterm delivery, non-elective Caesarean sections, and need of neonatal intensive care were increased in many IMDs. Particularly, SLE, SS, type 1 diabetes, and Addison's disease showed >2-fold risks for some of these outcomes. In most rheumatic diseases, moderate (1.1-1.5-fold) risk increases were observed for diverse adverse pregnancy outcomes, with similar effects in IBD, celiac disease, asthma, ITP, and psoriasis. Rheumatic diseases have a broad impact on reproductive health, with effects comparable with that of several other IMDs. Of the rheumatic diseases, SLE and SS conferred the largest risk increases on perinatal adverse event outcomes.

Attitudes Toward Immigration in Europe. Understanding the Links Between Pronatalism and Voluntary Childlessness

Many European societies follow pronatalist family policies; nevertheless, in all countries, the total fertility rate is below replacement level and the rate of childless people is growing. Meanwhile, among demographers and policymakers, immigration is discussed as a way to increase the labor force and recently also to maintain the population size. This study contributes to a better understanding of individuals’ attitudes on these issues by examining the factors that influence the acceptance of immigration from the prism of attitudes toward voluntary childlessness. Attitudes toward immigrants as well as attitudes toward voluntary childlessness vary across and within European societies. From a selective pronatalist perspective, both factors might threaten the survival of the nation. Therefore, in this study, we assess the extent to which attitudes toward voluntary childlessness relate to attitudes toward immigrants. We differentiate attitudes toward immigrants as an economic and as a cultural threat. We use data from the European Social Survey (Round 9) and apply multilevel linear regression models. Our results show that there is a strong association between the acceptance of immigrants and voluntary childlessness at the individual level. At the country level, the female childlessness rate is associated with attitudes toward immigration: higher female childlessness rates are associated with more favorable attitudes toward immigration.

Childlessness and sibling positioning in upward intergenerational support: Insights from Singapore

AbstractObjectiveThis brief report aims to explore the role of childlessness and its interaction with sibling positioning (i.e., birth order and gender) in upward intergenerational support within the context of Asian familial and patrilineal values.BackgroundDespite the increasing rates of childlessness in Asia, little is known about how childless individuals deviate from or adhere to the patrilineal gendered practices of supporting their older parents. Singapore, a rapidly aging nation that emphasises Confucian familism values and patrilineal practices in guiding its welfare policies, provides an ideal setting for this research investigation.MethodWe analysed a sample of 475 Singaporeans aged 50 and above with at least one living parent from a recent nationwide survey. We utilised multivariate regressions to examine the associations between childlessness and various types of upward intergenerational support, with further heterogeneity analyses based on sibling positioning.ResultsThe traditional patrilineal pattern of first‐born sons providing the most financial transfers to aging parents was found among non‐childless individuals. In contrast, all childless individuals, regardless of their birth order and gender, played a significant role in providing intergenerational support, particularly in instrumental and associational support, as well as maintaining geographical proximity to their parents.ConclusionChildless individuals in Singapore were found to shoulder the primary responsibility for supporting parents, thus upholding the values of filial piety and familism. Results further suggest that the rising prevalence of childlessness may contribute to the erosion of patrilineal norms in upward intergenerational support in Asia.

The continuing decline in cohort fertility and mixed evidence of narrowing educational differences

Background Typically, women with higher levels of education have had fewer children and were more likely to be childless compared to those with lower levels of education. However, in recent years, there has been a trend of fertility convergence between education levels in several high-income countries, including Australia. New data are needed to determine whether this trend has continued and fertility remains educationally stratified among Australian women.
 Aims Using the latest available data from the 2021 Australian Census, the aim of this study is to compare the average completed fertility and number of children ever born of women born between 1952 and 1981, with a specific focus on how these metrics vary by education level.
 Data and methods Data on the number of children ever born are sourced from the 2021 Australian Census to compute population statistics (completed cohort fertility, proportion of women by parity, and parity progression ratios) for six educational categories (postgraduate, graduate, bachelor, diploma, year 12, year 11 and below) and six cohort groups (1952-56, 1957-61, 1962-66, 1967-71, 1972-76, 1977-81). These statistics are used to describe trends in fertility patterns over time and by education.
 Results Completed cohort fertility has continued to decline slowly, from 2.22 for the1952-56 birth cohorts to 1.89 for the 1977-81 birth cohorts, mostly due to an increase in childlessness and a decrease in larger families with more than two children. There has been more divergence than convergence by education level, with those with bachelor's or diploma qualifications experiencing greater declines in fertility than any other education group. Although childlessness rates by education level have converged, women with lower education have also become increasingly likely to have larger families.
 Conclusions While there is evidence of convergence in childlessness rates across different levels of education, the gap in fertility rates between education groups continue to increase in Australia.

Highly educated women are no longer childless: The role of marketization

Baudin et al. (2015) document that childlessness rates in the U.S. in 1990 exhibited a U-shaped relationship with women’s education, with highly educated women much more likely to be childless than other women. We show that this is no longer true: the childlessness rate of highly educated women has converged to that of other women. We argue that highly educated women are now able to marketize the time cost of child rearing, allowing them to have both a family and a career.

Stability and change in male fertility patterns by cognitive ability across 32 birth cohorts.

The relationship between cognitive ability (CA) and childbearing remains unsettled. Using Norwegian administrative registers with population coverage, we study how male lifetime fertility patterns differ across cognitive score groups, and how these changed across the 1950-1981 birth cohorts, covering a period characterized by rapid social and economic change. The analyses reveal systematic differences in fertility and fertility timing across CA groups, with high scoring males having delayed but ultimately higher fertility than lower scoring males. This pattern remains stable over time despite strong trends towards delayed and reduced fertility. The overall positive relationship between CA and fertility is primarily driven by high rates of childlessness in the lowest scoring group, with low-scoring males showing higher rates of parity progression at higher parities.

Has childlessness rate increased in India? Evidence from national family health surveys

Background: In the recent years developing countries have been experiencing an increase in the number of women without children. Is India also one of them? This paper tries to analyse whether childlessness has increased in India and what are the factors which determine childlessness. Methods: The present paper uses cross sectional data from the fourth and fifth round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS 4 and NFHS 5). The analysis is based on complete childlessness which includes women above 40 years of age. Bi-variate analysis and binary logistic regression has been used. Results: The results indicate that overall, 7% of women were childless in India in 2015-2016 which increased to 12% in 2019-2021; the increase was statistically significant. Childlessness was positively associated with level of education, age at marriage, body mass index (BMI) level, and presence of thyroid. Urban women were more prone to experience childlessness. Conclusions: Although childlessness is less in India compared to the developed world, the percentage of childless women is likely to rise given the increasing trends of woman’s schooling, age at marriage, media exposure, etc. This would in turn increase the demand on reproductive health care services.

The relationships between childlessness and educational attainment among women born between 1920 and 1979 in Hungary

Using comprehensive, individual-level census and micro census data from 1970 to 2016, our analysis seeks to answer the question of how the level of childlessness has changed in Hungary among women born between 1920 and 1979. Are there any differences by educational attainment and how the extent of childlessness would have changed if there had been no expansion in education? Our results indicate that the proportion of childless women has changed over time, both overall and within each educational group. The level of childlessness among women with different educational attainment has become increasingly similar to that of women with secondary education. Convergence was strongest between those with primary and vocational education. The level of childlessness among women with secondary and tertiary education has also become similar, although it remained consistently higher for college and university graduates. We also set up two hypothetical childlessness scenarios. In the fixed education scenario, the educational composition of women born in 1945–1949 was held constant and was projected to all birth cohorts. In the fixed childlessness by education scenario, we held the childlessness rate constant within all educational categories of women born in 1955–1959 and projected it onto the other birth cohorts. For both scenarios we calculated the overall childlessness for each cohort. Our calculations indicate that the change in the composition of women by educational attainment had a smaller effect on overall childlessness rates than the change in the level of childlessness among women with different levels of schooling.

LONELINESS IN LGBTQIA+ OLDER ADULTS: A SCOPING REVIEW

Abstract Loneliness in older adulthood is responsible for poor mental and physical health, cognitive decline, and early mortality. Older adults in the LGBTQIA+ community experience additional layers of vulnerability, such as discrimination, higher rates of childlessness, health inequity, and economic disparity that place them at high risk for loneliness. The purpose of this scoping review is to explore the existing literature on loneliness in LGBTQIA+ older adults and identify knowledge gaps to inform future research recommendations. Using the Arskey & O’Malley methodological framework, our team searched PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, PsychINFO, Scopus, and Google Scholar using keywords related to older adults, sexual and gender minorities, and loneliness. We identified 61 articles from 1980 to 2022. Most of the research in this literature reflected studies using descriptive and qualitative approaches. Intervention studies were the least reported. One opinion piece is included. Initial findings highlight associations between discrimination and loneliness, poor mental health and loneliness, the challenges of HIV in older adulthood and loneliness, and loneliness experienced in caregiving and end of life in LGBTQIA+ older adults. Importantly, many studies emphasized the protective nature of strong social support and community ties against loneliness. Equally, the literature suggests that limited social support is a significant risk factor for loneliness in this population. Older gender non-binary and LGBTQIA+ people of color were underrepresented in many studies. Future research should include intervention research that targets loneliness in this population as well as studies focused on understanding loneliness more comprehensively in underrepresented LGBTQIA+ older adults.

RNA binding protein IGF2BP1 meditates oxidative stress-induced granulosa cell dysfunction by regulating MDM2 mRNA stability in an m6A-dependent manner

Both genetic and microenvironmental detrimental factors are involved in ovarian dysfunction, leading to the increasing rate of involuntary childlessness in recent years. Oxidative stress (OS), which is characterized by the imbalance of redox system with redundant reactive oxygen species (ROS) overwhelming the antioxidant defense, is regarded as one of the culprits of ovarian dysfunction. OS causes damage to various types of ovarian cells including granulosa cells (GCs), jeopardizing the ovarian microenvironment, disturbing follicular development and participating in various female reproductive disorders. However, the specific molecular pathological mechanisms underlying this process have not been fully elucidated. In this study, we found that 3-nitropropionic acid (3-NP) treatment led to significant IGF2BP1 downregulation via, at least partially, inducing ROS overproduction. IGF2BP1 regulates GCs viability, proliferation, cell cycle and cellular senescence by enhancing MDM2 mRNA stability in an m6A-dependant manner. IGF2BP1 overexpression partially rescued 3-NP induced GCs damages, while ectopically expressed MDM2 alleviated both 3-NP or IGF2BP1-knockdown induced GCs dysfunction. These results reveal an epigenetic molecular mechanism underlying OS-related GCs disorders, which may help to establish a novel potential clinical marker for predicting the GCs status as well as the follicular developmental potential.

Childlessness and Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: Is There Evidence for a U-shaped Pattern?

In high-income countries, women increasingly remain permanently childless. Little is known about the relationship between childlessness and socioeconomic development in non-Western societies and particularly sub-Saharan Africa. At lower levels of development, poverty-driven (i.e., involuntary) childlessness may decrease with increases in levels of development, while at higher levels of development opportunity-driven (i.e., voluntary and circumstantial) childlessness may rise with development. Thus, we expect a U-shaped relationship between childlessness and development overall. We examine this idea for sub-Saharan Africa. We further contribute by differentiating between female and male childlessness; and between involuntary, voluntary and circumstantial childlessness. Moreover, we construct new indicators of subnational historical development to assess both inter- and intra-country variation, and distinguish between three components (health, education and income) to investigate the drivers behind the hypothesized U-shaped relationship. Using 291 Demographic and Health Surveys between 1986 and 2018 from 38 countries and 384 regions, we find a U-shaped relationship between female childlessness and development, and a linear relationship for men. The U-shape for women results from negative associations of female involuntary childlessness with health and educational advancements, combined with positive correlations of voluntary and circumstantial childlessness with education and income improvements. While these positive associations are stronger among men than women, the negative relationships of involuntary childlessness with health and education observed for women are absent for men, resulting in an overall positive and linear relationship between development and childlessness among men. Our findings have implications for how we might expect childlessness rates to evolve with future levels of development.

The fertility effects of school entry decisions

ABSTRACT School entry regulations lead to differences in the age when children start school. While previous literature estimated the effects of age at school entry for compliers with school entry regulations, we look at non-compliers, namely those who enter school one year before the official entry date. Based on an instrumental variable approach, the results show that early enrolment increases the number of children by 0.1 (which is significant at the 10%-level), whereas we find no significant impact on rates of childlessness.

Clinical Evaluation and Semen Analysis in Male Infertility - A Study on 100 Cases

One of the important and underappreciated reproductive health problems in developing countries is the high rate of infertility and childlessness. A cross-sectional type of descriptive study was conducted to evaluate the male fertility status by the conventional semen analysis. This study was conducted in which 100 men with age ranged from 20 to 45 years of a primary and secondary infertile couple of more than one year, in the Infertility OPD of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Shahbag, Dhaka during October 2012 to March 2013. They were divided into two groups depending on the results of their semen analysis: 35 with abnormal semen and 65 with normal semen profile. The mean (±SD) age was 34.0±4.7 years in patients with abnormal semen and 33.9±5.6 years in patients with normal semen. Nearly one-third (31.42%) of the patients was a farmer in abnormal semen and 7.7% in normal semen. The majority (62.85%) of the abnormal semen patients worked in hot environments, STD was found 20.0% in patients with abnormal semen and 3.1% in patients with normal semen, mumps observed 8.6% in abnormal semen and 3.1% in normal semen patients. Surgical history was found 11.4% in abnormal semen and 1.5% in normal semen patients. Positive family history of infertility was found in 8.6% of abnormal semen patients but no positive family history of infertility was found in normal semen patients. Varicocele was found 25.7% in patients with abnormal semen and 21.5% in patients with normal semen. Primary subfertility was 91.4% in abnormal semen patients and 58.5% in normal semen patients. Farmer, hot working environment, STD, surgical history, positive family history, primary subfertility were significantly (p<0.05) higher in patients with abnormal semen. The highest number of patients were oligospermic (51.4) followed by azoospermia 22.9%, asthenozoospermia 17.1%, teratozoospermia 5.7% and aspermia 2.9%. Occupational exposure, STD, hot environment, past surgical history has a significant negative impact on male infertility.

Razlike u kohortnom fertilitetu prema migracijskom obilježju: slučaj Grada Zagreba

Razlike u kohortnom fertilitetu prema migracijskom obilježju: slučaj Grada Zagreba

At risk of reproductive disadvantage? Exploring fertility awareness among migrant women in Germany.

This study examined awareness about fertility among immigrant women and non-migrants in Germany. The social relevance of infertility and fertility treatment is increasing in Western countries due to continually low overall birth rates, a high rate of childlessness, and a gap between the desired and actual numbers of children. While there is growing interest in infertility and reproductive medicine in general, previous studies have rarely included immigrant or ethnic minorities in Europe. This study investigated whether knowledge on the age-related fertility decline (ARFD) varies between migrant groups and the majority group, and the role of education. Working hypotheses were drawn from theoretical considerations on frameworks of migrant assimilation. The analysis was based on data collected in a social science pilot study on reproductive medicine, representative of the general population (‘NeWiRe’ 2014–2015). The sample included 962 women aged 18–50 years living in Germany. Approximately 81% of the sample were immigrants who originated from Turkey, Poland, the Balkan countries or countries of the (post-Soviet) Commonwealth of Independent States. While rather poor overall, knowledge on ARFD was found to be significantly lower in the migrant groups compared with the majority group. This minority-group disadvantage cannot be explained by sociodemographic or cultural variables. Future research should include minority groups in empirical studies on awareness about fertility in order to better understand the causes of this disadvantage, and the potential reproductive needs of migrants.

Impaired fertility in men diagnosed with inflammatory arthritis: results of a large multicentre study (iFAME-Fertility)

ObjectivesThe impact of inflammatory arthritis (IA) on male fertility remains unexplored. Our objective was to evaluate the impact of IA on several male fertility outcomes; fertility rate (number of biological...

Childbearing postponement, its option value, and the biological clock

Having children is like investing in a risky project. Postponing birth is like delaying an irreversible investment. It has an option value, which depends on its costs and benefits, and in particular on the additional risks motherhood brings. We develop a parsimonious theory of childbearing postponement along these lines. We derive its implications for asset accumulation, income, optimal age at first birth, and childlessness. The structural parameters are estimated by matching the predictions of the model to data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth NLSY79. The uncertainty surrounding income growth is shown to increase with childbearing, and this increase is stronger for more educated people. This effect alone can explain why the age at first birth and the childlessness rate both increase with education. We use the model to simulate two hypothetical policies. Providing free medically assisted reproduction technology does not affect the age at first birth much, but lowers the childlessness rate. Insuring mothers against income risk is powerful in lowering the age at first birth.