Voluntary childlessness. Toward a theoretical integration.

Abstract

Despite the recent proliferation of research on the topic of voluntary childlessness, a substantive theory has yet to be developed. A major objective of this article is to undertake such a theoretical formulation. A focus on social structural variables, that is, female education and employment, has led demographers and others to predict a phenomenal increase in voluntary childlessness. That this macro level theory is incomplete is evidenced by the fact that it cannot account for the decline or leveling off in the voluntary childless rate since 1975, despite continuing increases in women's educational achievements and labor force participation. A missing link in this formulation is the cultural component. An individual decision making model is necessary to show how social structural factors mesh with cultural components in influencing fertility decisions, in this case voluntary childlessness. Unless there is an effort to understand the micro level processes that distort the macro level patterns, a comprehensive understanding of voluntary childlessness cannot be forthcoming.