Research on involuntary childlessness and adoption among heterosexuals is primarily focused on women's needs and perceptions. Consequently, little is known about how men view childlessness and adoption, and less is known about Black men's perceptions. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore Black heterosexual men's experiences of considering adoption when involved in an involuntarily childless relationship. Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory served as a foundation for this study. Data were derived from semi structured interviews with 7 participants and 3 adoption professionals. Transcribed and coded data were analyzed using MAXQDA 2018, a qualitative data analysis software. Initial codes were drawn deductively, by use of recurrent codes in published literature, and inductively, from an initial reading of the data. Themes were identified among codes, then placed within one of three broad categories: adoption perceptions, childlessness and adoption consideration experiences, and adoption consideration influences. The study results showed that couple difficulty in resolving adoption differences; gender nuances in the adoption decision-making journey; overwhelming social pressure to father children; limited social support; and silence, inaction, or procrastination surrounding adoption were common features of most male experiences. This study has implications for positive social change, as the findings can inform adoption recruiters' outreach program content and methodology. Family counselors will derive insight into multiple issues surrounding involuntarily childless Black couples to provide them with effective conflict resolution intervention.

SAMMANFATTNING Bakgrund: Ett par som önskar bli gravida, och som under minst ett år med upprepade oskyddade samlag inte lyckats bli gravida, benämns som infertila. Av alla dessa par beräknas tio till femton procent vara infertila. Orsakerna till infertiliteten kan vara många och ligga hos både mannen och kvinnan, ålder och livsstilsfaktorer anses vara viktiga bidragande orsaker. Endast tjugofem till femtio procent av de par som är infertila och söker behandling får uppleva den efterlängtade förlossningen. Det är inte ovanligt att kvinnor i denna situation drabbas av en livskris. Barnmorskan har en stödjande roll i samband med det infertila parets behandlingsprocess. Syfte: Syftet med detta arbete var att belysa kvinnors upplevelser av den sociala och psykiska påverkan som den ofrivilliga barnlösheten kan medföra, samt hur de hanterar dessa upplevelser. Metod: Den metod som valts för detta arbete är en litteraturöversikt. Arbetet baserades på 15 vetenskapliga artiklar publicerade 2005- 2015. För att finna material gjordes artikelsökningar i olika databaser. De valda artiklarna granskades enligt Sophiahemmets Högskolas riktlinjer för kvalitetsgranskning. Artiklarna lästes upprepade gånger och med hjälp av understrykningar i texten kunde relevant information delas in under tre olika rubriker som svarade på studiens syfte och frågeställningar. Resultat: Resultatet har delats in i tre huvudrubriker vilka är; Kvinnors upplevelser av den psykiska påverkan, Kvinnors upplevelser av den sociala påverkan och Att hantera den nya livssituationen. Slutsats: Kvinnornas upplevelser av den psykisk påverkan kan beskrivas med många ord, men de känslor som ofta återkommer är skuld, skam, sorg, förlust av självkänsla, stress, ångest och depression. Kvinnornas upplevelser av den social påverkan beskrivs oftast som isolering och stigmatisering. Kvinnor hanterar den nya livssituationen på olika sätt, men det viktigaste är att ha en aktiv och medveten strategi.

The topic of this thesis is involuntary childlessness and its impact on partner relationships. The theoretical part describes theories which try to explain, why people want to have children; here the knowledge about infertility, its therapy and other ways of solving this problem are summarized. The next part of the thesis deals with involuntary childlessness and its psychosocial aspects; special attention is paid to involuntary childlessness in connection to partner relationships. This part also summarizes the coping strategies of partners and presents the possible ways of psychological help for them. The empirical part was implemented by using the qualitative research, the semi-structured interviews and the method of Inclusion of Other in the Self scale. Total of 11 respondents took part, all women and each of them with experience in the area of involuntary childlessness. This part presents answers on the questions about the sense of parenthood for involuntarily childless women, their emotions and partner relationships. It surveys the areas of partner relationships, which were affected by the involuntary childlessness and describes what happens in relationship during this experience. It also shows the view of the individual respondents on the role of the social environment, on the life without...

This doctoral thesis provides a set of studies of social influences on fertility timing. Swedish register data are used to link individuals to their parents and siblings, thereby allowing the study of impacts of family of origin, social background, and parental death on fertility. The Swedish Medical Birth Register is used to investigate the effect of mode of delivery on higher order births. The thesis consists of an introductory chapter with an overview of the consequences and predictors of the timing of childbearing, and a theoretical framework to explain these relationships. This chapter also includes a section where the contribution to existing knowledge, the relation of the findings to life course theory, and suggestion for further research are discussed. This chapter is followed by four original empirical studies. The first study applies sister and brother correlations to investigate and estimate the impact of family of origin on fertility. It shows that family of origin matters for fertility timing and final family size. The study also shows that the overall importance of family of origin has not changed over the approximately twenty birth cohorts that were studied. The second study introduces three dimensions of social background - occupational class, status, and education - into fertility research. It suggests that social background, independent of individuals’ own characteristics, matters for the timing of first birth and the risk of childlessness. The study also shows that different dimensions of social background should not be used interchangeably. The third study uses the Swedish Medical Birth Register to investigate the effect of mode of delivery on the propensity and birth interval of subsequent childbearing. It demonstrates that mode of delivery has an impact on the progression to the second and third births but that a first delivery by vacuum extraction does not reduce the propensity of subsequent childbearing to the same extent as a first delivery by emergency or elective caesarean section. The fourth study explores the effects of parental death on adult children's fertility. The findings reveal that parental death during reproductive ages can affect children’s fertility. The effects are moderated by the gender of the child and when in the life course bereavement occurs. The combined output of these four studies provides evidence that human fertility behavior is embedded in social relationships with kin and friends throughout life. Family of origin, social background, an older sibling's birth, and bereavement following parental death influence the adult child's fertility. These findings add knowledge to previous research on intergenerational and social network influences in fertility.

This thesis is a study in attitudes towards voluntary childlessness. The specific aim is to investigate attitudes towards voluntary childlessness in a society with pronatalist values: how are they structured and how can the structure be interpreted in the Swedish context? As inspiration and theoretical framework the theory of “the value of children”, that was developed by Lois W. Hoffman and Martin L. Hoffman in the 1970’s USA, was used. In order to fulfill the aim a quantitative survey was conducted on the Internet with 2,283 respondents. The data were factor-analyzed and three main factors were interpreted. These factors were named “The natural parenthood”, “Freedom” and “The personal experience”. They were interpreted as three collective dimensions of thinking about parenthood and voluntary childlessness. The study contributes to our knowledge of pronatalist norms as well as the ways in which attitudes towards voluntary childlessness are shaped. The thesis proposes that pronatalist norms can hide under a supposedly individualistic discourse or under internalized beliefs about naturalness. Positive attitudes towards voluntary childlessness seems to contain, above all, beliefs about freedom.

Bakgrund: I Sverige definieras begreppet upprepade missfall som att en kvinna har fått tre eller flera missfall i följd och det uppskattas drabba ca en procent av världens alla par i fertil ålder. Då detta är en liten grupp kvinnor kan det vara svårt för den drabbade kvinnan att veta var hon kan vända sig med sina funderingar och vad hon har rätt till för vidare hjälp. Vid flera upprepade missfall växer behovet av att få svar på vad som sker och varför samtidigt som behovet av stöd och förståelse från sina närstående blir större. Tillgången till utredning och behandling ser olika ut men med hjälp från barnmorskans och vårdens sida kan lämplig planering utifrån kvinnan situation utvecklas. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka kvinnans upplevelse av upprepade missfall och belysa hennes behov under och tiden efter missfallet. Metod: Metoden för denna uppsats var en kvalitativ metasyntes med metaetnografisk analysmetod. Totalt kvalitetsgranskades 29 artiklar varav 16 gick igenom kvalitetsgranskningen och sammanställdes till ett resultat. Resultat: Sju kategorier med nyckelbegrepp bildades. Kategorierna som identifierades var missfallsprocessen, utrymme för sorg, undvikande beteende, partnerrollen, socialt stöd, förväntningar på vården och att bli gravid igen. Slutsats: Då alla kvinnor är olika varierar upplevelsen och behoven vid en missfallsprocess. Genom att ha kunskap om vad kvinnan går igenom både fysiskt- och psykiskt vid upprepade missfall bidrar det till en ökad förståelse för vad kvinnan behöver, både från sin omgivning men även från vårdens sida. Klinisk tillämpbarhet: Studien skulle kunna bidra till att utforska möjligheten att ändra på kriterierna för utredning vid upprepade missfall. Studien skulle även kunna leda till en förbättring av kunskapsläget både för individen, samhället och vården gällande hur bemötandet av denna grupp av kvinnor ser ut. Barnmorskor kan som yrkesgrupp stödja och hjälpa denna grupp kvinnor genom uppföljning i samband med att de kommer i kontakt med barnmorskemottagningen för att meddela att graviditeten har slutat i ännu ett missfall. Vidare kan etableringen av stödgrupper inom vården vara ett bra stöd för kvinnor som är med om upprepade missfall och dessa grupper skulle potentiellt ledas och samordnas av en barnmorska som innehar kompetens inom området upprepade missfall. / Background: In Sweden, the concept of recurrent miscarriage is defined as a woman having three or more miscarriages in succession and it is estimated to affect about one percent of all couples of childbearing age worldwide. Since this is a small group of women, it can be difficult for the effected woman to know where she can turn with her thoughts and what she is entitled to regarding further help. After enduring multiple recurrent miscarriages, the need to get some answers and at the same time the need to receive support and understanding from their close surroundings increases. The access to further investigation and treatment is different depending on where you are but with some help from a midwife and other healthcare providers, an appropriate plan based on the woman's situation can be developed. Purpose: The aim of this essay was to investigate the experiences of women who have endured recurrent miscarriages and their further needs that occurred during and the time after the miscarriage. Methods: The method used in this essay was a qualitative metasynthesis with metaethnographic analysis method. In total, 29 articles were collected of which 16 of them went through the quality review and were compiled to a result. Results: seven categories containing of key concepts were formed. The categories identified were the process of miscarrying, room for griefing, avoiding behavior, the partners role, social support, expectations of the healthcare and becoming pregnant again. Conclusion: Due to the fact that all women are different, the experiences and needs during a miscarrying process varies. By having the knowledge of what the woman goes through both physically and mentally during recurrent miscarriages, it contributes to a greater understanding of what the woman needs, both from her surroundings but also from the healthcare. Clinical applicability: This essay could help to explore the possibilities of modifying the criteria for an investigation of recurrent miscarriages. The essay could also lead to improvement of the knowledge situation for the individual, the society and the care providers regarding how this group of women wants to be treated. Midwives as a profession could help to support this group of women by initiating contact with the women when or after she has contacted the midwife clinic to announce another pregnancy loss. Furthermore, the establishment of support groups for women with recurrent miscarriages could be helpful and supportive for these women. The support groups could potentially be coordinated by a midwife with specific knowledge about recurrent miscarriage.

Neste trabalho nos debruçamos sobre um fenômeno emergente no Brasil e no mundo: os casais que não desejam ter filhos. Nosso objetivo foi discutir seus discursos a respeito deste tema problematizando o imperativo social que lhes ordena que tenham filhos. A dissertação se constitui por dois artigos. No primeiro, teórico, procuramos, através de um percurso histórico bibliográfico, investigar o significado atribuído ao ter filhos do século XVI até os dias atuais. Constatamos que ao longo dos séculos os discursos que se dirigiram à família foram modificados, gerando normas a serem seguidas com o intuito de trazer, prioritariamente, retorno financeiro para o Estado. Apesar disso, fica claro que movimentos de resistência sempre caminharam lado a lado com tais normatizações, partindo dessas normas no sentido de problematizá-las. O segundo artigo foi consequência de um estudo empírico com casais que não tinham filhos e não pretendiam tê-los. Os resultados apontaram casais que travam uma batalha constante com o discurso normatizador. Concluímos que é possível que os casais que não desejam ter filhos façam parte de um movimento de resistência- mas, ao mesmo tempo, se constituam em relação a ele- estando dentro e fora, à margem sim, mas sendo essa margem aquilo que os delimita, possibilitando o surgimento do novo a partir da diferença e da repetição / In this study we will analyze an emerging phenomenon in Brazil and in the world, the couples who do not wish to have children. Our objective was to discuss their discourse about this theme having in mind the social imperative that orders them to have children. The dissertation constitutes itself by two articles: In the first, which is theoretical, we search, through a historical bibliographic pathway, to investigate the meaning of having children from the 16th century until our actual days. We found that within the centuries the speeches that were conducted to the family were transformed creating rules that had to be obeyed with the intention of giving, primarily, financial profit for the state. Nevertheless, it is clear that resistance movements always walked side by side with those rules having as objective to surpass them. The second article was a consequence from an empirical study with couples that did not haven children and also did not pretend to have. The results pointed out that these couples are in a constant struggle against the ruling speech. We concluded that it is possible that the couples who do not wish to have children become a part of the resistance movement, but, at the same time, it may constitute in relation to them, if they are inside and outside, a margin, but this margin is what delimits them and, in the difference and repletion enables the emergence of the new

L'analyse longitudinale de la fécondité montre que les valeurs élevées de l’ICF pendant unepremière période (1960-1980) résultent de l'adoption d'un calendrier plus précoce des femmes néesen 1940 et au-delà. Aussi, son effondrement au cours d’une seconde période (1980-2000) est dû à uncalendrier fécond plus mature des femmes nées à partir de 1960. L’augmentation de l’ICF despremières années de 2000 est due au phénomène de récupération des naissances à traversl’augmentation des taux de fécondité à des âges supérieurs à 30 ans. Cette récupération estcependant incomplète car la descendance finale des générations s’est nettement réduite au fil dutemps. En tenant compte de la mortalité, aucune de générations examinées ne s’est complètementreproduite. L'analyse de la fécondité longitudinale selon le rang biologique de naissance de l’enfantmontre un âge moyen à la maternité de plus en plus élevé au premier enfant et l'augmentationsignificative de l’infécondité définitive pour les femmes nées depuis la fin des années 1960. Plus de lamoitié des femmes nées entre 1940 et le début des années 1960 ont obtenu 2 enfants. Le modèlestandard de la famille de deux enfants semble donc apparaître un plus tôt en Grèce que dans d’autrespays européens. Le découplage de la fécondité de la nuptialité, observée dans les pays occidentauxn’a pas encore été confirmée pour la Grèce. Le début de la crise économique a coïncidé avec ladiminution de la fécondité transversale. Le faible recul temporel ne nous permet pas de savoir si cetteréduction aura un impact sur la descendance finale des générations. / The longitudinal analysis of fertility shows that the low values of the period TF from 1980 to 2000was the result of the postponement of births, as women who born after 1960 were putting offparenthood to later ages which depressed period fertility rates. The increase of period TF in the firstdecade of 2000 is due to fertility “recuperation”, through the increase in fertility rates at ages over 30years old. The recuperation is incomplete and the cohort fertility has significantly reduced over timeAnalysis of cohort fertility by biological birth order shows a mean age of childbearing in first childincreasingly high and a significant increase of childlessness. The 20-25% of woman born from1970 to1975 in Greece will remain childlessness. The reduction of complete fertility in generations is largelydue to the fact that more and more women reaching the age of 49 years old without having achildren. Also the family size is reduced over the generations, two child family becoming the norm.The parity progression ratios reduced at all birth orders and especially a2 and a3. The low percentageof births outside marriage in Greece (6,7% 2013) revealed the important role of marriage inchildbearing. Data from the censuses (1991,2001,2011) show that unmarried women over 49 yearsold, had on average a total fertility between 0,05 to 0,15 children/women and a childlessness ratebetween 85 and 95%. The examination of a series of economic indicators like GDP andunemployment rate alongside with period TF reveals the strong correlation between the twophenomena. The short time series (2009-2012) does not allow us to know whether this reduction ofperiod fertility will have an impact on the cohort fertility.

Voluntarily child free (VCF) individuals face stigmatization in a pronatalist society that labels those who do not want children as deviant. Because of this stigmatization, VCF couples face privacy issues as they choose to reveal or conceal their family planning decision and face a variety of reactions from social network members. Therefore, communication privacy management and communication accommodation theory was use to examine this phenomenon. Prior research found two different types of VCF couples: grounds-based and grounds-free. Grounds-based individuals cite medical or biological reasons for not having children, while grounds-free individuals cite social reasons for not having children. The purpose of this study is to examine how grounds-based and grounds-free VCF couples manage their disclosure of private information and how social network members react to their family planning decision. Findings revealed that grounds-free individuals are more likely to engage in the self-defense hypothesis and grounds-based individuals are more likely to engage in the expressive need hypothesis. Grounds-based individuals were asked about their decision in dyadic situations, whereas grounds-free individuals were asked at group gatherings. Additionally, social network members used under-accommodation strategies the most frequently and grounds-free individuals experienced more name calling than grounds-based. Finally, while grounds-free individuals experienced non-accommodation and over-accommodation strategies, grounds-based did not. Findings suggest that grounds-free individuals are more stigmatized by social network members. Implications for merging CPM and CAT are discussed.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-01T18:08:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 dissertacao_marilia_rique.pdf: 881018 bytes, checksum: a56ecd777d5de96a6465d85af01d9c9a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-10-22 / In this study we will analyze an emerging phenomenon in Brazil and in the world, the couples who do not wish to have children. Our objective was to discuss their discourse about this theme having in mind the social imperative that orders them to have children. The dissertation constitutes itself by two articles: In the first, which is theoretical, we search, through a historical bibliographic pathway, to investigate the meaning of having children from the 16th century until our actual days. We found that within the centuries the speeches that were conducted to the family were transformed creating rules that had to be obeyed with the intention of giving, primarily, financial profit for the state. Nevertheless, it is clear that resistance movements always walked side by side with those rules having as objective to surpass them. The second article was a consequence from an empirical study with couples that did not haven children and also did not pretend to have. The results pointed out that these couples are in a constant struggle against the ruling speech. We concluded that it is possible that the couples who do not wish to have children become a part of the resistance movement, but, at the same time, it may constitute in relation to them, if they are inside and outside, a margin, but this margin is what delimits them and, in the difference and repletion enables the emergence of the new / Neste trabalho nos debruçamos sobre um fenômeno emergente no Brasil e no mundo: os casais que não desejam ter filhos. Nosso objetivo foi discutir seus discursos a respeito deste tema problematizando o imperativo social que lhes ordena que tenham filhos. A dissertação se constitui por dois artigos. No primeiro, teórico, procuramos, através de um percurso histórico bibliográfico, investigar o significado atribuído ao ter filhos do século XVI até os dias atuais. Constatamos que ao longo dos séculos os discursos que se dirigiram à família foram modificados, gerando normas a serem seguidas com o intuito de trazer, prioritariamente, retorno financeiro para o Estado. Apesar disso, fica claro que movimentos de resistência sempre caminharam lado a lado com tais normatizações, partindo dessas normas no sentido de problematizá-las. O segundo artigo foi consequência de um estudo empírico com casais que não tinham filhos e não pretendiam tê-los. Os resultados apontaram casais que travam uma batalha constante com o discurso normatizador. Concluímos que é possível que os casais que não desejam ter filhos façam parte de um movimento de resistência- mas, ao mesmo tempo, se constituam em relação a ele- estando dentro e fora, à margem sim, mas sendo essa margem aquilo que os delimita, possibilitando o surgimento do novo a partir da diferença e da repetição