A revealing study analyzes attitudes towards voluntary childlessness in 27 European countries, distinguishing between social expectations and perceived consequences, and uncovering widespread cultural and demographic influences.
A recent study has taken an unprecedented deep dive into the evolving attitudes towards voluntary childlessness across 27 European countries, presenting compelling insights that highlight significant cultural and demographic influences.
Published in the open-access journal PLOS One, the study was conducted by Ivett Szalma from the HUN-REN Center for Social Sciences in Budapest, Hungary, alongside Marieke Heers from Switzerland’s FORS – the Swiss Centre of Expertise in the Social Sciences – and Maria Letizia Tanturri of the University of Padova, Italy.
The study comes at a time when choosing not to have children is becoming increasingly common in Europe. The researchers focused on understanding how views on childlessness vary depending on whether the emphasis is on social expectations or perceived life consequences.
“Our study finds that lower gender inequality predicts higher acceptance of voluntary childlessness, while the level of religiosity does not make any differences,” the authors revealed in their concluding remarks.
The researchers categorized attitudes as either prescriptive, which are centered on social expectations like whether people approve or disapprove of choosing childlessness, or proscriptive, which consider the perceived negative implications for childless individuals.
Utilizing data from 27 countries, the analysis illuminated the complex nature of these attitudes.
Interestingly, the study found significant correlations based on sociodemographic factors.
Societies with higher rates of childlessness tended to have greater acceptance of childlessness in a proscriptive sense, but this trend wasn’t observed for prescriptive attitudes. In regions with greater gender equality, there was a higher acceptance of childlessness in both measures. This trend suggests that gender roles and economic stability significantly influence attitudes towards childlessness.
The data also revealed that women, individuals with higher educational attainment, and in some instances, younger people generally held more accepting views towards voluntary childlessness. This could be tied to a greater awareness of the personal and professional costs associated with parenthood.
Conversely, retirees were found to be less approving from a prescriptive standpoint, likely reflecting generational differences.
Surprisingly, a country’s overall religiosity did not significantly sway attitudes in either direction. However, on an individual level, more religious people tended to show less acceptance of voluntary childlessness.
The researchers believe that distinguishing between these prescriptive and proscriptive attitudes provides a clearer picture of societal norms and perceptions. This nuanced understanding could contribute to shaping future research and policy development, offering a lens to observe how these attitudes evolve over time across Europe and potentially the rest of the world.
Source: PLOS