Voluntarily childless men: an exploration of identity and stigma

This study involved a qualitative exploration of voluntarily childless men. Eleven voluntarily childless men participated in in-depth interviews designed to investigate three research questions. The first one explored the reactions voluntarily childless men have encountered in response to their decisions to remain without children. All of the respondents with the exception of one gay respondent had received negative reactions from family, friends, coworkers, and others. This study also investigated whether voluntarily childless men incorporate negative societal evaluations into their concepts of self. All of the respondents stated that they did not let negative reactions bother them. The third research question this study explored was what strategies, if any; voluntarily childless men use to manage the stigma of their childless status. Most of the respondents in this sample did not report using any stigma management strategies however;one respondent used a strategy referred to as redefining the situation.