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Author: Rybinska-Campbell, Anna
Resulting in 1 citation.
1. Rybinska-Campbell, Anna
Intentions to Remain Childless: An Old Response to New Exigencies or a New Response to Old Exigencies?
Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Sociology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2019
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (PQDT)
Keyword(s): Age at First Birth; Age at First Marriage; Expectations/Intentions; Fertility; Life Course

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

In this dissertation, I investigate an idea that in recent decades the development of an intention to remain childless during the transition to adulthood emerged as an alternative response, or even a new response, to life exigencies. In other words: under the present day cultural context, women, instead of delaying motherhood, decide early in their life course to forego childbearing for the sake of a childless life style. I introduce three research aims: 1. to investigate the emergence of preferences for motherhood delay and childlessness in adolescence; 2. to examine the process of childlessness intentions development over the life course; and 3. to study the changes in the prevalence of childlessness intentions in the United States.

The findings unveil a nuanced picture of the connections between marriage and motherhood postponement, the development of childlessness intentions, and permanent childlessness. Preference for marriage delay and remaining childless emerge early in the life course, at times as early as during adolescence. Thus, the processes of selection into marriage delay and into preferences for childlessness start very early and set young women on trajectories of motherhood postponement which ultimately increase their chances of permanent childlessness. In addition, the prevalence of intentions to remain childless is on the rise, potentially leading to a spread of a childfree lifestyle among future generations. By addressing the associations between motherhood delay and childlessness intentions, this dissertation contributes to scholarly conversations about parenthood delay, childlessness, and family change.

Bibliography Citation
Rybinska-Campbell, Anna. Intentions to Remain Childless: An Old Response to New Exigencies or a New Response to Old Exigencies? Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Sociology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2019.