521
Views
1
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Research Article

‘No longer invincible’: the impact of involuntary childlessness on older men

ORCID Icon
Pages 328-343 | Received 14 May 2019, Accepted 25 Jan 2021, Published online: 13 Feb 2021

References

  • Bibby J, Lovell N. What makes us healthy? An introduction to the social determinants of health. London: The Health Foundation; 2018. p. 1–61.
  • United Nations. World Population Ageing 2009. New York: The Department of Economic and Social Affairs; 2009.
  • Kreyenfeld M, Konietzka D. Analyzing childlessness. In: Kreyenfeld M, Konietzka D, editors. Childlessness in Europe: contexts, causes, and consequences. Demographic research monographs. Cham (Switzerland): Springer; 2017. p. 3–15.
  • Corsetti S. Childless couples 'on track to be Australia's most common family type'. Australia: ABC; 2017 [cited 2019 May 10]. Available from: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-15/childless-households-on-the-rise/8528546
  • Parr N. Childlessness among men in Australia. Popul Res Policy Rev. 2010;29(3):319–338.
  • Grenier E. More Canadians living alone and without children, census figures show. 2017 [cited 2019 May 11]. Available from: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/census-2016-marriage-children-families-1.4231163
  • Feng Z. Childlessness and vulnerability of older people in China. Age Ageing. 2018;47(2):275–281.
  • Kreyenfeld M, Konietzka D, editors. Childlessness in Europe: contexts, causes, and consequences. Cham (Switzerland): Springer; 2017.
  • Boddington B, Didham R. Increases in childlessness in New Zealand. J Pop Res. 2009;26(2):131–151.
  • Boddington B, Didham R. Busy making other plans: increases in childlessness in New Zealand. Demographic trends. Welligton: Statistics New Zealand; 2008. p. 2–11.
  • Didham R. Childlessness in New Zealand 1976 to 2013. New Zealand Sociol. 2016;31(1):155–172.
  • Masebe L, Ramosebudi M. Trends and levels of childlessness among educated women in South Africa. African Pop Stud (Supplement Special Issue On “Demographic Dividend In Africa: Prospect, Opportunities And Challenges”). 2016;30(2):2897–2909.
  • Livingston G, Cohn DV. Childlessness up among all women; down among women with advanced degrees. Washington: Pew Research Center; 2010 [cited 2019 May 10]. Available from: https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2010/06/25/childlessness-up-among-all-women-down-among-women-with-advanced-degrees/
  • Waren W, Pals H. Comparing characteristics of voluntarily childless men and women. J Pop Res. 2013;30(2):151–170.
  • Wittenberg R, Pickard L, Malley J, et al. Future demand for social care, 2005 to 2041: projections of demand for social care for older people in England. London: Personal Social Services Research Unit, The London School of Economics and Political Science; 2008.
  • Pickard L. A growing care gap? The supply of unpaid care for older people by their adult children in England to 2032. Ageing Soc. 2015;35(1):96–123.
  • Office for National Statistics. National population projections, 2008-based. London: Office for National Statistics; 2009 [cited 2010 Feb 10]. Available from: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/pproj1009.pdf
  • Pickard L, Wittenberg R, King D, et al. Informal care for older people by their adult children: projections of supply and demand to 2041 in England. London: The London School of Economics and Political Science; 2009.
  • Hoff A. Current and future challenges of family care in the UK: future of an ageing population. Evidence review: March 2015. Foresight Future of an Ageing Population project. London: Foresight, UK's Government Office for Science; 2015.
  • Beth Johnson Foundation/Ageing without Children. Our voices. London: AWOC.ORG; 2016.
  • Pesando LM. Childlessness and upward intergenerational support: cross-national evidence from 11 European countries. Ageing Soc. 2019;39(06):1219–1236.
  • Carers UK. Facts about carers. Policy briefing, October 2015. London: Carers UK; 2015. p. 1–12.
  • McNeil C, Hunter J. The generation strain. The collective solutions to care in an ageing society. London: Institute for Public Policy Research; 2014.
  • Pickard L, Wittenberg R, Comas-Herrera A, et al. Mapping the future of family care: receipt of informal care by older people with disabilities in England to 2032. Soc Policy Soc. 2012;11(4):533–545.
  • Sobotka T. Childlessness in Europe: reconstructing long-term trends among women born in 1900–1972. In: Kreyenfeld M, Koneitzka D, editors. Childlessness in Europe: contexts, causes, and consequences. Cham (Switzerland): Springer; 2017. p. 17–56.
  • Tanturri ML, Mills M, Rotkirch A, et al. State-of-the-art report: Childlessness in Europe. Working Per Series 32. Brussels: Families and Socities Project, European Union; 2015.
  • Hadley RA. Ageing without children, gender and social justice. In: Westwood S, editor. Ageing, diversity and equality: social justice perspectives. Abingdon: Routledge; 2018. p. 66–81.
  • Dykstra PA, Hagestad GO. Roads less taken: developing a nuanced view of older adults without children. J Fam Issues. 2007;28(10):1275–1310.
  • Elliot S. The relationship between fertility issues and sexual problems in men. Can J Hum Sexuality. 1998;7(3):1–8.
  • Dykstra PA. Childless old age. In: Uhlenberg P, editor. International handbook of population ageing. Vol. 1. Houten: Springer; 2009. p. 671–690.
  • Finch J. Displaying families. Sociology. 2007;41(1):65–81.
  • Morgan DHJ. Rethinking family practices. London: Palgrave Macmillan; 2011.
  • Wellman B, Wortley S. Different strokes from different folks: community ties and social support. Am J Sociol. 1990;96(3):558–588.
  • Heaphy B. Choice and its limits in older lesbian and gay narratives of relational life. J GLBT Fam Stud. 2009;5(1–2):119–138.
  • Jones-Wild R. Reimagining families of choice. In: Hines S, Taylor Y, editors. Sexualities: past reflections, future directions. London: Palgrave Macmillan; 2012. p. 149–167.
  • Westwood S. Heterosexual ageing: interrogating the taken-for-granted norm. In: Westwood S, editor. Ageing, diversity and equality: social justice perspectives. London: Routledge; 2018. p. 147–164.
  • Morison T. Heterosexual men and parenthood decision making in South Africa: attending to the invisible norm. J Fam Issues. 2013;34(8):1125–1144.
  • Hadley RA, Hanley TS. Involuntarily childlessmen and the desire for fatherhood. J Reprod Infant Psychol. 2011;29(1):56–68.
  • Letherby G. When treatment ends: the experience of women and couples. In: Crawshaw M, Balen R, editors. Adopting after infertility: messages from practice, research, and personal experience. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers; 2010. p. 29–42.
  • Letherby G. “Infertility" and "involuntary childlessness": losses, ambivalences and resolutions. In: Earle S, Komaromy C, Layne L, editors. Understanding reproductive loss: perspectives on life, death and fertility. Abingdon (UK): Routledge; 2016. p. 9–22.
  • Miall CE. The stigma of involuntary childlessness. Soc Probl. 1986;33(4):268–282.
  • Hadley RA. Life without fatherhood: a qualitative study of older involuntarily childless men [PhD dissertation]. Keele: Keele University; 2015.
  • Hadley RA. I’m missing out and I think I have something to give”: experiences of older involuntarily childless men. WWOP. 2018;22(2):83–92.
  • Allen RES, Wiles JL. How older people position their late-life childlessness: a qualitative study. J Marriage Fam. 2013;75(1):206–220.
  • Wenger GC, Dykstra PA, Melkas T, et al. Social embeddedness and late-life parenthood community activity, close ties, and support networks. J Fam Issues. 2007;28(11):1419–1456.
  • Kelly M. Women's voluntary childlessness: a radical rejection of motherhood? Women’s Stud Q. 2009;37(3 & 4):157–172.
  • Murphy M. Where have all the children gone? Women's reports of more childlessness at older ages than when they were younger in a large-scale continuous household survey in Britain. Popul Stud (Camb). 2009;63(2):115–133.
  • Rowland DT. The prevalence of childlessness in cohorts of older women. Austral J Ageing. 2010;17(1):18–23.
  • Jeffries S, Konnert C. Regret and psychological well-being among voluntarily and involuntarily childless women and mothers. Int J Aging Hum Dev. 2002;54(2):89–106.
  • Letherby G. Infertility around the globe: new thinking on childlessness, gender, and reproductive technologies [Book Review]. Sociol Health Illness. 2004;26(3):375–376.
  • Monach JH. Childless, no choice: the experience of involuntary childlessness. Abingdon: Routledge; 1993.
  • Letherby G. Childless and bereft?: stereotypes and realities in relation to ‘voluntary’ and ‘involuntary’ childlessness and womanhood. Sociol Inquiry. 2002;72(1):7–20.
  • Albertini M, Kohli M. Childlessness and intergenerational transfers in later life. In: Kreyenfeld M, Konietzka D, editors. Childlessness in Europe: contexts, causes, and consequences. New York: Springer; 2017. p. 351–367.
  • Greil AL, Slauson-Blevins K, McQuillan J. The experience of infertility: a review of recent literature. Sociol Health Illn. 2010;32(1):140–162.
  • Mahlstedt PP. The psychological component of infertility. Fertil Steril. 1985;43(3):335–346.
  • Lee S. Counselling in male infertility. Oxford: Blackwell Science; 1996.
  • Boivin J. A review of psychosocial interventions in infertility. Soc Sci Med. 2003;57(12):2325–2341.
  • Fisher J, Hammarberg K. Psychological aspects of infertility among men. In: Simoni M, Huhtaniemi I, editors. Endocrinology of the testis and male reproduction. Cham: Springer International Publishing; 2017. p. 1287–1317.
  • Hinton L, Miller T. Mapping men's anticipations and experiences in the reproductive realm: (in)fertility journeys. Reprod Biomed Online. 2013;27(3):244–252.
  • Culley L, Hudson N, Lohan M. Where are all the men? The marginalization of men in social scientific research on infertility. Reprod Biomed Online. 2013;27(3):225–235.
  • Marsiglio W, Lohan M, Culley L. Framing men’s experience in the procreative realm. J Fam Issues. 2013;34(8):1011–1036.
  • Lohan M. Advancing research on men and reproduction. Int J Men's Health. 2015;14(3):214–232.
  • Inhorn MC, Tjørnhøj-Thomsen T, Goldberg H, et al. The second sex in reproduction? Men, sexuality, and masculinity. In: Inhorn MC, Tjørnhøj-Thomsen T, Goldberg H, et al. editors. Reconceiving the second sex: men, masculinity, and reproduction. New York: Bergham Books; 2009. p. 1–17.
  • Inhorn MC. The new Arab man. Emergent masculinities, technologies, and Islam in the Middle East. Princeton (NJ): Princeton University Press; 2012.
  • Throsby K, Gill R. “It's different for men”: masculinity and IVF. Men Masculinities. 2004;6(4):330–348.
  • Hadley RA. Deconstructing dad. In: Barry J, Kingerlee R, Seager M, editors. The Palgrave handbook of male psychology and mental health. London: Palgrave Macmillan; 2019. p. 47–66.
  • Blyth E, Moore R. Involuntary childlessness and stigma. In: Mason T, Carlisie C, Watkins C, editors. Stigma and social exclusion in healthcare. London: Routledge; 2001. p. 217.
  • Dudgeon MR, Inhorn MC. Gender, masculinity and reproduction: anthropological perspectives. Int J Men's Health. 2003;2(1):31–56.
  • Webb RE, Daniluk JC. The end of the line: infertile men's experiences of being unable to produce a child. Men Masculinities. 1999;2(1):6–25.
  • Kendig H, Dykstra PA, van Gaalen RI, et al. Health of aging parents and childless individuals. J Fam Issues. 2007;28(11):1457–1486.
  • Weitoft G, Burström B, Rosén M. Premature mortality among lone fathers and childless men. Soc Sci Med. 2004;59(7):1449–1459.
  • Guralnik JM, Butterworth S, Patel K, et al. Reduced midlife physical functioning among never married and childless men: evidence from the 1946 British Birth Cohort Study. Aging Clin Exp Res. 2009;21(2):174–181.
  • Dykstra PA, Keizer R. The wellbeing of childless men and fathers in mid-life. Ageing Society. 2009;29(8):1227–1242.
  • Byetheway B. Ageism. Buckingham: Open University Press; 1995.
  • Calasanti TM, Slevin KF. Introduction. In: Calasanti TM, Slevin KF, editors. Gender, social inequalities and aging. Walnut Creek (CA): AltaMira Press; 2001. p. 3–12.
  • Byetheway B. Unmasking age. The significance of age for social research. Bristol: The Policy Press; 2011.
  • Hadley RA. Involuntarily childless men: issues surrounding the desire for fatherhood [dissertation]. Manchester: The University of Manchester; 2008.
  • Hadley RA. Navigating in an uncharted world: how does the desire for fatherhood affect men? [dissertation]. Manchester: The University of Manchester; 2009.
  • Muijs D. Doing quantitative research in education with SPSS. London: SAGE; 2004.
  • Braun V, Clarke V, Terry G. Thematic analysis. In: Rohleder P, Lyons A, editors. Qualitative research in clinical and health psychology. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan; 2013. p. 95–113.
  • Chambers P. Older widows and the life course: multiple narratives of hidden lives. In: Maltby T, Street DA, editors. New perspectives on aging and later life. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing Limited; 2005.
  • Wengraf T. Qualitative research interviewing. Biographic narratives and semi-structured methods. London: SAGE Publications Ltd; 2001.
  • Wengraf T, Chamberlayne P. Interviewing for life-histories, lived situations and personal experience: the biographic-narrative interpretive method (BNIM). (Longer) short guide to BNIM interviewing and interpretation. London: London East Research Institute, University of East London, UK; 2006 [cited 2011 Feb 15]; version 6.5a-08/05/06. Available from: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:fp51U3u_IAIJ:www.uel.ac.uk/cnr/Wengraf06.rtf+Interviewing+for+life-histories,+lived+situations+and+personal+experience:+The+Biographic-Narrative+Interpretive+Method+(BNIM).&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk&client=safari&source=www.google.co.uk
  • Holstein MB, Minkler M. Critical gerontology: reflections for the 21st century. In: Bernard M, Scharf T, editors. Critical perspectives on ageing societies. Bristol: The Polity Press; 2007. p. 13–23.
  • Elder GHJ, Kirkpatrick Johnson M, Crosnoe R. The emergence and deveolpment of life course theory. In: Mortimer JT, Shanahan MJ, editors. Handbook of the life course. New York: Springer; 2003. p. 3–19.
  • Blaikie N. Designing social research. The logic of anticipation. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Polity Press; 2010.
  • Letherby G. Feminist auto/biography. In: Evans M, Hemmings C, editors. The SAGE handbook of feminist theory. London: SAGE Publications; 2014. p. 45–60.
  • Wright Mills C. The sociological imagination. New York: Oxford University Press; 1959.
  • Oliffe JL. Bugging the cone of silence with men's health interviews. In: Gough B, Robertson S, editors. Men, masculinities and health: critical perspectives. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan; 2009. p. 67–90.
  • Goldstein JR. How populations age. In: Uhlenberg P, editor. International handbook of population aging. Vol. 1. Houten: Springer; 2009. p. 7–18.
  • Davidson K. Gender, age and widowhood: how older widows and widowers differently realign their lives [thesis]. Guildford: University of Surrey; 1998.
  • Hadley RA. The impotence of earnestness and the importance of being earnest: recruiting older men for interview. In: Tarrant A, Watts JH, editors. Studies of ageing masculinities: still in their infancy? No 14: representation of older people in ageing research series. London: The Centre for Policy on Ageing; 2014. p. 68–83.
  • Hadley RA. It's most of my life – going to the pub or the group’: the social networks of involuntarily childless older men. Ageing Society. 2021;41(1):51–26.
  • QSR International Pty Ltd. NVivo qualitative data analysis software; Version 09. 9. Melbourne, Australia: QSR International Pty Ltd; 2010.
  • Stanley L. On auto/biography in sociology. Sociology. 1993;27(1):41–52.
  • Carroll K. Infertile? The emotional labour of sensitive and feminist research methodologies. Qual Res. 2013;13(5):546–561.
  • Hugill K. The 'auto/biographical' method and its potential to contribute to nursing research. Nurse Res. 2012;20(2):28–32.
  • Hadley RA. Deconstructing dad. In: Barry JA, Kingerlee R, Seager M, editors. The Palgrave handbook of male psychology and mental health. Cham: Springer International Publishing; 2019. p. 47–66.
  • Alley D, Crimmins EM. Epidemiology of ageing. In: Dannefer D, Phillipson C, editors. The SAGE handbook of social gerontology. London: SAGE Publications Ltd; 2010. p. 75–95.
  • Laslett P. A fresh map of life. London: Weidenfield and Nicholson; 1989.
  • Grenier A. Transitions and the lifecourse: challenging the constructions of 'growing old. Bristol: The Policy Press; 2012.
  • Bowling A, Dieppe P. What is successful ageing and who should define it? BMJ. 2005;331(7531):1548–1551.
  • Gabriel Z, Bowling A. Quality of life from the perspectives of older people. Ageing Society. 2004;24(5):675–691.
  • Strawbridge WJ, Wallhagen MI, Cohen RD. Successful aging and well-being: self-rated compared with Rowe and Kahn. Gerontologist. 2002;42(6):727–733.
  • Gabriel Z. Bowling A. Quality of life in old age from the perspectives of older people. In: Walker A, Hagan Hennessey C, editors. Quality of life in old age. Growing older. Maidenhead: Open University Press; 2004. p. 14–34.
  • Bowling A. The psychometric properties of the older people's quality of life questionnaire, compared with the CASP-19 and the WHOQOL-OLD. Curr Gerontol Geriatr Res. 2009;2009:298950.
  • Robertson S. Understanding men and health: masculinities, identity and well-being. Maidenhead: Open University Press; 2007.
  • Davidson K, Meadows R. Older men's health: the role of marital status and masculinities. In: Gough B, Robertson S, editors. Men, masculinities and health: critical perspectives. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan; 2009. p. 109–123.
  • Williams R. The health experiences of African-Caribbean and white working-class fathers. In: Gough B, Robertson S, editors. Men, masculinities and health: critical perspectives. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan; 2010. p. 143–158.
  • Robertson S, Bagnall A-M, Walker M. Evidence for a gender-based approach to mental health programmes: identifying the key considerations associated with “being male.” Rapid Review, Report. London: The Movember Foundation; 2015.
  • Arber S, Ginn J, Davidson K. Older men: their social world and healthy lifestyles. Final Report ed. Swindon: Economic and Social Research Council; 2005.
  • Davidson K, Arber S. Older men – their health behaviours and partnership status. In: Vincent JA, Phillipson CR, Downs M, editors. The futures of old age. London: SAGE Publications; 2006. p. 127–147.
  • Krekula C. The intersection of age and gender: reworking gender theory and social gerontology. Curr Sociol. 2007;55(2):155–171.
  • Davidson K, Arber S. Older men – their health behaviours and partnership status. In: Walker A, Hagan Hennessey C, editors. Quality of life in old age. Growing older. Maidenhead: Open University Press; 2004. p. 127–148.
  • Bennett-Britton I, Teyhan A, Macleod J, et al. Changes in marital quality over 6 years and its association with cardiovascular disease risk factors in men: findings from the ALSPAC prospective cohort study. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2017;71(11):1094–1100.
  • Watson J. Male bodies: health, culture, and identity. Buckingham: Open University Press; 2000.
  • Gough B, Robertson S. Men, masculinities and health: critical perspectives. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan; 2010.
  • Dolan A, editor. ‘I never expected it to be me’: men’s experiences of infertility. Men, Infertility and Infertility Treatment Seminar. 2013 Nov 29; Scarman Training & Conference Centre, University of Warwick: ESRC.
  • Earle S, Hadley R. Men's views and experiences of infant feeding: a qualitative systematic review. Matern Child Nutr. 2018;14(3):e12586.
  • Gough B. Promoting 'masculinity' over health: a critical analysis of men's health promotion wih particular reference to an obesity reduction 'manual’. In: Gough B, Robertson S, editors. Men, masculinities and health: critical perspectives. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan; 2010. p. 125–142.
  • Neuberger J. What does it mean to be old? In: Cann P, Dean M, editors. Unequal ageing: the untold story of exclusion in old age. Bristol: Policy Press; 2009. p. 101–122.
  • Scambler G. Health-related stigma. Sociol Health Illn. 2009;31(3):441–455.
  • Baars J, Dohmen J, Grenier A, et al. Connecting meaning with social structure: theoretical foundations. In: Baars J, Dohmen J, Grenier A, et al., editors. Ageing, Meaning and Social Structure: Connecting critical and humanistic gerontology. Bristol: Policy Press; 2013. p. 11–30.
  • Cowlishaw S, Niele S, Teshuva K, et al. Older adults' spirituality and life satisfaction: a longitudinal test of social support and sense of coherence as mediating mechanisms. Ageing Soc. 2013;33(7):1243–1262.
  • Grenier A. ReValuing Care Research Network [Internet]. In Westwood S, editor. 2013. [cited 2013]. Available from: http://revaluingcare.net/rethinking-age-in-the-context-of-care/
  • Westwood S. 'We see it as being heterosexualised, being put into a care home': gender, sexuality and housing/care preferences among older LGB individuals in the UK . Health Soc Care Community. 2016;24(6):e155–e163. Nov
  • Hinchliff S, Tetley J, Lee D, et al. Older adults' experiences of sexual difficulties: qualitative findings from the english longitudinal study on ageing (ELSA). J Sex Res. 2018;55(2):152–163.
  • Tetley J, Lee DM, Nazroo J, et al. Let's talk about sex – what do older men and women say about their sexual relations and sexual activities? A qualitative analysis of ELSA Wave 6 data. Ageing Soc. 2018;38(3):497–521.
  • Gott M, Hinchcliff S. Sex and ageing: a gendered issue. In: Arber S, Davidson K, Ginn J, editors. Gender and ageing. Changing roles and relationships. Maidenhead: Open University Press; 2003. p. 63–78.
  • Davidson K, Daly T, Arber S. Exploring the social worlds of older men. In: Arber S, Davidson K, Ginn J, editors. Gender and ageing. Changing roles and relationships. Maidenhead: Open University Press; 2003. p. 168–185.
  • Vogel D, Wester S, Heesacker M, et al. Confirming gender stereotypes: a social role perspective. Sex Roles. 2003;48(11/12):519–528.
  • Lee S. Myths and reality in male infertility. In: Haynes J, Miller J, editors. Inconceivable conceptions: psychological aspects of infertility and reproductive technology. Hove: Brunner-Routledge; 2003. p. 73–85.
  • Wong JY, Rochlen AB. Demystifying men’s emotional behaviour: new research directions and implications for counseling and research. Psychol Men Masculinity. 2005;6(1):62–72.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.