'The impact of male involuntary childlessness' (original) (raw)
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Involuntarily childless men and the desire for fatherhood
Reference as: Hadley, R. A. & Hanley, T. S. (2011). Involuntarily childless men and the desire for fatherhood. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 29(1), 56-68., 2011
Objective: This study aims to explore the experience of childless men and the desire for fatherhood. Background: There is little research exploring the desire for fatherhood, with most studies concentrating on couples in infertility treatment. Of those, the majority focus on the women’s experience, a factor that may reflect the gender stereotype and cultural identification of childlessness to women. Methods: A qualitative approach was adopted. A convenience sample of 10 biologically childless men were recruited through the snowball method and interviewed individually. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and transcripts were then analysed using Grounded Theory. Results: A core category, ‘Lifescape’s of childless men: enduring anticipation and expectation in an uncharted world’, divided into three meta themes: Emotive Forces, Extant Agency, and Life Course. The desire for parenthood appeared to peak in the 30s, gradually reduced, but did not cease. The participants also revealed a sense of ‘outsiderness’ in familial, social, and work relationships. Conclusion: Involuntarily childless men reported similar experiences to those in, or who have had, infertility treatment. These included a sense of loss, depression, exclusion, isolation, and risk‐taking behaviour. Over the life course the men also found ways to adapt and reappraise their beliefs concerning themselves emotionally, psychologically and socially. To help understand this process, gender‐role therapy is presented as a possible approach for working with childless men.
'Navigating in an Uncharted World: How does the Desire for Fatherhood affect Men?'
Reference as: Hadley, R. A. (2009). Navigating in an Uncharted World: How does the desire for fatherhood affect men? MSc Dissertation, The University of Manchester, Manchester.
This self-funded MSc study originated from a previous qualitative study into the issues surrounding involuntarily childless men. That study indicated that involuntary childlessness affected men's behaviour, mental health, relationships, and identity. The results reflected
‘No longer invincible’: the impact of involuntary childlessness on older men
Physical Therapy Reviews, 2021
The global trend of declining fertility rates and an increasingly ageing population has led to increased scrutiny of parenthood. Although there are more childless men than childless women, there is very little research literature on the impact of male childlessness. The childless are absent from much social science literature, which has mainly focussed on family and women. Feminist studies into infertility and ageing have highlighted the absence of the male experience. Involuntary childlessness has been viewed as a complex bereavement formed by multiple losses. Distress levels in both men and women in this population have been found to be as high those with grave medical conditions. Objectives The aim of this study was to examine older men?s experience of involuntary childlessness. Methods This piece draws on my qualitative auto/biographical doctoral study that was framed by biographical, life course, gerontological, and feminist approaches. Data collection involved in-depth semi-structured biographical interviews with 14 self-defined involuntary childless men aged between 49 and 82?years from across the United Kingdom. A latent thematic analysis highlighted the complex intersections between agency, biology, childlessness, economics, mental and physical health, relationships, and socio-cultural structures. Major findings Findings countered the stereotype that men are not interested in reproduction. I argue that that involuntary childlessness should be considered as a significant factor in older men's poor health and social capital. Conclusions This piece challenges the common narratives that the social, emotional, and relational aspects of involuntary childlessness do not affect men.
PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Involuntarily childless men and the desire for fatherhood
Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology
Objective: This study aims to explore the experience of childless men and the desire for fatherhood. Background: There is little research exploring the desire for fatherhood, with most studies concentrating on couples in infertility treatment. Of those, the majority focus on the women’s experience, a factor that may reflect the gender stereotype and cultural identification of childlessness to women. Methods: A qualitative approach was adopted. A convenience sample of 10 biologically childless men were recruited through the snowball method and interviewed individually. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and transcripts were then analysed using Grounded Theory. Results: A core category, ‘Lifescape’s of childless men: enduring anticipation and expectation in an uncharted world’, divided into three meta themes: Emotive Forces, Extant Agency, and Life Course. The desire for parenthood appeared to peak in the 30s, gradually reduced, but did not cease. The participants also revealed ...
Fertility and Sterility, 2010
Objective: To investigate attitudes toward parenthood, long-term life satisfaction, and health and well-being in men diagnosed as infertile. Design: A cross-sectional survey of a cohort of men 5 years after diagnosis of infertility. Setting: The andrology clinic at the Royal Women's Hospital Reproductive Services, Melbourne Australia. Patient(s): All men diagnosed at this center as infertile in 2001 and 2002. Intervention(s): None. Main Outcome Measure(s): Attitudes to parenthood (Meaning of Parenthood), quality of intimate relationship (Intimate Bonds Measure), personality characteristics (Vulnerable Personality Style Questionnaire), life satisfaction (Satisfaction with Life Scale), and self-rated physical health (Physical Component Summary of SF-12 [PCS-12]) and relationship with mental health (Mental Component Summary of SF12 [MCS-12]).
The lived experience of older involuntary childless men
The Annual Journal of the British Sociological Association Study Group on Auto/Biography, 2018
The implications of the global trend of declining fertility rates and an increasingly ageing population have been extensively reported. This piece examines the complex intersections between men's experience of involuntary childlessness and agency, structure, and relationships. Childless men are, compared to women, missing from gerontological, sociological, infertility, and psychological research. These fields have mainly focussed on family and women. Feminist studies into infertility and ageing have highlighted the absence of the male experience. Involuntary childlessness has been viewed as a complex bereavement formed by multiple losses. Distress levels in both men and women in this population have been found to be as high those with grave medical conditions. This piece draws on my doctoral study framed by biographical, life course, gerontological and feminist approaches. I explore the factors that influenced the 14 participants' routes to involuntary childlessness. Findings countered the stereotype that fatherhood is not important to men and challenges research that reports that men are not affected by the social, emotional, and relational aspects of involuntary childlessness. I will offer how my research has influenced my own identity.
Male Psychology: The Magazine, 2022
“The large volume of academic literature and general media on motherhood highlights the small amount on fatherhood. Significantly, there is even less work on male involuntary childlessness and childlessness-by-circumstance.” “Men’s experience of involuntary childlessness has been marginalised, if not ignored almost entirely, in the research literature.” These quotes make the motivation for Dr Hadley’s work clear. Without question, for anyone interested in the experiences of childless men, this is a most valuable source. The dearth of research on the topic is recommendation enough. Based on Hadley’s doctoral study, the central focus of the book is the extensive set of interviews with fourteen childless men in later life. One of the factors which emerges is that such childless men consider themselves outsiders from the world of parents and families. It is worth noting, then, that Rob Hadley considers himself an insider to their world, as a self-defined involuntarily childless man.
Men leave me as I cannot have children': women's experiences with involuntary childlessness
Human Reproduction, 2002
BACKGROUND: This study explores the concerns and experiences related to involuntary childlessness of infertile women living in a diverse cultural urban community in South Africa. METHODS: In-depth interviews were conducted with 30 women seeking treatment for involuntary childlessness. Women were interviewed at the time of their first visit to an infertility clinic in a tertiary referral centre. RESULTS: All women verbalized intense emotions about their involuntary childlessness. In addition, a large number of women experienced negative social consequences including marital instability, stigmatization and abuse. CONCLUSIONS: These findings demonstrate that infertility can have a serious effect on both the psychological well-being and the social status of women in the developing world. Furthermore, the study provides insight into the cultural context of involuntary infertility in South Africa. The delivery of good infertility care in a community requires awareness of the implications of infertility and insight into the context in which these occur. Since many of the negative social implications of infertility are probably rooted in low status women in the developing world, effective intervention will ultimately require social, economical and political changes.
In the UK, nearly half of all cases of infertility involve a 'male-factor'. Yet, little empirical work has explored how men as men negotiate this terrain. Three interrelated concepts; 'hegemonic masculinity', 'embodied masculinity' and the linkages between 'masculinities' and male help-seeking, provide the theoretical framework that guided a qualitative study conducted with 22 men experiencing infertility. The paper explores men's propensity to delay their help-seeking in relation to infertility despite their desire for children. It also demonstrates how, in the context of infertility, the male body can be defined as both a failed entity in itself (unable to father a child) and a subordinated social entity (unable to measure up to hegemonic ideals) that characterises men's masculine identities. The paper also illustrates how men appear willing to accept responsibility for their infertility and adopt aspects of hitherto subordinate masculine practice. This does not, however, constitute the total unravelling of well understood and accepted expressions of masculinity. Finally, the paper demonstrates how infertility is perceived as having the potential to fracture current and even future relationships. Moreover, regardless of how well men measured up to other hegemonic ideals, ultimately they can do little to counteract the threat of other (fertile) men.