‘I don't know if I want to have children at some point’: meanings of parenthood and reproductive decisions

ABSTRACT

The study aimed to understand the meaning of parenthood and the reproductive decisions of adults who do not have children in Chile. Based on a qualitative approach, 10 participants aged between 30 and 39 were interviewed. After that, a thematic analysis was conducted. The results indicated that the meanings of parenthood encompass a broad interplay of sociocultural, personal, and biological elements. As a result, parenthood was generally perceived as a complex task incompatible with other roles, leading the participants not to have children. Finally, gender differences were identified in the conception of parenthood and in the determination of having children. Men envisioned their future with children, whereas women reported more reservations about it. It has been concluded that how parenthood is signified is linked with the decision to reproduce.

KEYWORDS:

• Parenthood status
• Reproductive decision-making
• Meaning of parenthood
• Indecisiveness

Acknowledgements

This research was conducted as part of the Doctoral Programme in Psychology at the Universidad de Concepción.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo [grant number: Fondecyt [number 1180853]; National Doctoral Fellowship [numbers 21181101 and 21210229]] and was granted by the Vicerrectoría de Investigación y Doctorados de la Universidad San Sebastián - Project USS-FIN-23-DOCI-09.