Childlessness Among Older Women in the United States: Trends and Profiles

1. Childlessness Among Older Women in theUnited States: Trends and Profiles Dustin Burton and Joseph Hursey

2. Summary • The study focuses primarily on three categories of women aged from 35-44. • It analyzes women that fall into these categories: • Have children • Voluntarily childless women • Temporary childless women • Involuntarily childless women

3. Summary • Women communicate their roles within the family, and how they believe their role affects their children. • Examines how religion plays a role on a woman’s decision to have a child.

4. Religious Factors • Of all the groups studied, voluntarily childless women reported having no religion at a much higher percentage (21%). • 18% identified religion as not important. • 30% reported that they never attend any form of church service.

5. Religious Factors • Voluntarily childless women are significantly more likely to have changed their religious beliefs over the course of their life.

6. Methodology • Did not conduct their own research. • Analyzing existing studies conducted by the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG). • Only took data women between ages of 35-44. • From all over the country, varying ethnicities.

7. Findings • The voluntarily childless are disproportionately White, employed full time, and nonreligious, as indicated by higher percents reporting no religious affiliation, never attending religious services, and reporting religion as not important in their daily lives.

8. Discussion • Is it surprising that involuntarily childless women agree more with statement one than voluntarily childless women? • What about statement 2? Is it surprising that voluntarily childless women disagree more than any other group?

9. Discussion • In the United States today, how do you perceive today’s religion to affect women’s desire to have children? Does it encourage women to have children? Not to? • The study results ties together religion, work experience, and voluntarily childlessness, saying a low in religion leads to a high in the other two. Do you agree? High religion = Children + Less work experience Low religion = No Children + More work experience

10. Final Discussion If this study was performed on men instead of women, would the results be the same? Are the religious expectations on the men similar? Two different religions play two different roles on a woman’s desire to have a child. What kind of family conflict would arise between two spouses with differing religions?