Being childfree: the role of self-stigma

Abstract

The childfree lifestyle has been gaining increasing mainstream and academic attention, as more people choose not to have children. Although there are rising numbers of childfree individuals, stigma remains abundant. The purpose of this set of exploratory studies was to examine experiences of stigma and self-stigma in childfree people. In Study 1, we examined experiences of stigma and self-stigma in childfree people using qualitative thematic analysis. Community members (N = 222) were recruited to complete an electronic survey. Results revealed that most participants experienced childfree related stigma and self-stigma, with multiple factors contributing to its development and negative effects. Participant responses also supported the development of a quantitative scale to measure childfree self-stigma, which was subsequently created for Study 2. In Study 2, we quantitatively examined stigma and self-stigma in childfree people, primarily by conducting t-tests, z-tests, and bivariate correlations suited to the exploratory nature of the data. Childfree community members (N = 440), as well as childfree university students (n = 125) and non-childfree university students (n = 512) were recruited. Questionnaires in Study 2 addressed self-stigma, quality of life, trust in healthcare, autonomy, and personality. The self-stigma scale performed well psychometrically. Main findings further revealed that self-stigma was negatively correlated with quality of life and autonomy in the community sample. Further, individuals who had experienced childfree related stigma in the healthcare system reported reduced trust in healthcare overall. Primary strengths of the project include the large samples and two-pronged approach to examining the constructs, while limitations included the cross-sectional and correlational design of the research. This work supports self-stigma theory and also highlights the ongoing stigma that childfree people face and the significant challenges and consequences this poses.