Page 10 - IJPS-7-2

International Journal of
Population Studies A theoretical review of childlessness

biological, environmental, and socioeconomic factors, for driving forces of new behaviors and family arrangements,
example, stress, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, among which childlessness is found (Balbo et al., 2013).
and obesity (Gore et al., 2015; Segal & Giudice, 2019). The Preference Theory (Hakim, 2000; 2002), similarly
If this set of factors that includes biological, to the Second Demographic Transition, also understands
socioeconomic, and environmental domains works in that fertility behavior is defined by personal values
favor of the increase in childlessness, assisted reproductive and individual preferences. In this vein, factors such as
technologies (ART), for instance, in vitro fertilization (IVF), secularization, the emergence of individual aspirations,
can work in the opposite direction. These technologies and the weakening of traditional social and moral norms
consist of techniques for handling eggs and embryos, and, help women to make their own decisions, including
in general, the procedures involve the surgically removing the postponement or denial of childbearing (Tanturri
of eggs from a woman’s ovaries, the combination of these et al., 2015). Hakim (2000; 2002) proposes the distinction
with sperm in the laboratory, and the subsequent returning of three groups of women, divided according to their
to the woman’s body (or donating to another woman) preferences regarding family and work. The first group,
(CDC, 2019). Techniques such as these ones can provide a with a family-oriented bias, has the home environment and
woman (or a couple) the chance of having a first child. They children as priorities in life, which make them choose not
are, nonetheless, expensive, and, as consequence, reachable to work (except for situations of economic emergencies).
by only a small proportion of the population (Crawford Women who prioritize their careers make up the second
et al., 2016). On top of that, given the current rising trend of group. They preferentially focus on the work environment,
childlessness, the socioeconomic advances, including the and, on several occasions, may end up remaining single or
fertility postponement coming from these changes, seem to without children. The third group does not have a single
play a more important role in the scenario of childlessness inclination. It is, therefore, composed of women who
in low-fertility countries (Tanturri et al., 2015). want to enjoy both work and family. Women tend to be
2.2. Theoretical approaches more family or career-oriented according to what they
experience at the beginning of the socialization process.
In addition to these socioeconomic and biological aspects Moral and social changes may encourage them to follow
related to childlessness, some theoretical approaches can their own desires. Thus, the preference for a life without
also corroborate the explanation of this feature. Although children gradually becomes a more acceptable behavior
these were not conceived, a priori, with the main purpose (Hakim, 2000; 2002; Tanturri et al., 2015).
of explaining childlessness, they are useful for the debate as
they present certain reasoning in which childlessness also The two theoretical approaches discussed so far are
fits somehow (Tanturri et al., 2015). guided by cultural issues and post-materialist values in
this effort to understand female reproductive behavior.
The first of these is the Second Demographic Transition Individualism, secularization, and self-fulfillment help
(SDT) (Lesthaeghe, 2010), characterized by: fertility below individuals more freely assess different courses of action
the replacement level, development of different family during their life histories, including remaining childless.
arrangements and increasing cohabitation, decoupling The next two approaches use economic perspectives. The
of marriage from fertility, increase in the number of Rational Choice Theory assumes that couples tend to
divorces, postponement of unions, increased non-marital consider income and personal preferences in the decision
fertility and the emergence of a greater number of childless to have more or fewer children so that they end up weighing
women (Lesthaeghe, 2010; Zaidi & Morgan, 2017). The the costs and benefits in a final rational decision. Although
main driver of the SDT is the cultural change that made according to the economic paradigm, fertility and income
possible the development of postmodern norms and are positively associated, this theory argues that couples
attitudes, evidencing, especially, individualism. Thus, the tend to invest in quality rather than quantity, which leads
SDT understands that the decrease in the power of family- to a smaller number of children. Even though both quality
related values and norms is explained by the search for and quantity have positive elasticity with income, and
greater individual decision-making power accompanied quantity tends to increase with economic development,
by an accentuated process of secularization. It focuses on the demand for quality is more elastic and increases with
ideational changes, which are the main causes of family greater speed. This context leads to an increase in the price
loss of importance (Lesthaeghe, 2010; Zaidi & Morgan, of the child sufficiently enough to reduce the number of
2017). McAllister & Clarke (1998) show evidence of children (Becker, 1960; Lee, 2015).
childless women who aspire to independence and freedom,
which is directly in line with the STD proposal. Therefore, In addition to the quantity-quality trade-off, the
according to this theory, ideational changes are the main Rational Choice Theory discusses the opportunity costs

Volume 7 Issue 2 (2021) 4 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.v7i2.352