Lived Experiences of Childless Couples: A Phenomenological Study From the Indian Rural Context

Abstract

This study sought to create an in-depth understanding of the experiences of being an involuntary childless couple from the social and personal points of view through qualitative research. The study used an essentially phenomenological methodology. Fifteen participants were recruited through purposive and snowball method. Data were collected via an open-ended narrative inviting the informants to focus on the experiences of being childless and were analyzed thematically. The issue of personal context emerged as a key theme in understanding perceptions of the respondents. Another important theme was that from the social context. This study has tried to explore the emotional sufferings faced by childless couples in the Indian context. Findings of this study suggest that prevalence of the social culture largely influences the psychosocial state of childless couples and hence coping strategies adopted by them are largely influenced by the prevailing culture.

KEYWORDS:

• childlessness
• couples
• family
• India
• qualitative
• society

Notes

The Hindu society and polity were governed by shastras or texts like Manusmriti by Manu (also referred as Manavdharmasastra) and Arthshastra by Kautilya (Nadkarni, 2007). They mention the social obligations and duties of people in different stages of life. They are, in totality, an encompassing representation of life in the world: how it is and how it should be lived.