Roads Less Taken: Developing a Nuanced View of Older Adults Without Children

This article provides the rationale for doing research on childlessness and parenthood in late life. Childless older adults have been rendered invisible in the social scientific literature. A central goal of this issue is to make them visible and to expose unstated assumptions about normal adult lif...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of family issues 2007-10, Vol.28 (10), p.1275-1310
Main Authors: Dykstra, Pearl A., Hagestad, Gunhild O.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult Development
Behavior Standards
Child Rearing
Childlessness
Family (Sociological Unit)
Gender Differences
Gender Issues
Marriage
Older Adults
Parent Child Relationship
Parents
Social Behavior
Social Change
Social Integration
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Summary:This article provides the rationale for doing research on childlessness and parenthood in late life. Childless older adults have been rendered invisible in the social scientific literature. A central goal of this issue is to make them visible and to expose unstated assumptions about normal adult life. Parenthood emerges as a key organizer of the life course and a major factor in social integration. Because the childless tend to be conceptualized as “the other,” focusing on them teaches lessons about the dangers of dichotomous thinking, that is, overlooking diversity and assuming deficiency. Studying older adults without children reveals the necessity of considering life pathways over time and of putting lives in a historical context.
ISSN:0192-513X
1552-5481
DOI:10.1177/0192513X07303822