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UBC Theses and Dissertations
The meaning and experience of intentional childlessness for married women Michener, Sandra L. Currie
Abstract
A qualitative phenomenological research design was used to explore the meaning and experience of intentional childlessness for heterosexual, married women. Six women between 38 and 44 years of age from Vancouver and the Lower Mainland volunteered to discuss their experiences of being childless by choice in individual, audio-taped, in-depth interviews with the researcher. Seven common themes were drawn from the participants' interview transcripts using Colaizzi's (1978) procedure for phenomenological data analysis. The results indicated that the women had a strong sense of independence and autonomy that they believed would be compromised by having children. The women sensed they needed to maintain control over their own lives and environments, especially controlling their fertility, their sense of order and certainty, and their home environments. Most of the women had experienced some uneasiness and discomfort when around children. Parenting was viewed as an overwhelming responsibility that they perceived included objectionable emotional investments, sacrifices, and risks. Primarily, the women stated they had no desire to have children; mothering was perceived as hindering careers and the pursuit of other meaningful endeavours. Sensing they were different than other women and especially most married women who "traditionally" are mothers, the participants had rarely directed "maternal" feelings toward children; they lacked both a desire for children and regret for not having them. Perceiving that many other people expected them to have children, the women experienced being called upon to justify their choice and had withstood criticism for choosing to remain childless. The participants perceived childbearing as optional for women and had exercised their right not to have children, presenting their choice as a morally responsible act. The women were constructing their paths through life by evolving a sense of self not identified with motherhood, but instead, a self characterized and defined by engagement in other personally fulfilling and meaningful relationships and pursuits.
Item Metadata
Title |
The meaning and experience of intentional childlessness for married women
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Creator | |
Publisher |
University of British Columbia
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Date Issued |
1996
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Description |
A qualitative phenomenological research design was used to explore the meaning and
experience of intentional childlessness for heterosexual, married women. Six women between
38 and 44 years of age from Vancouver and the Lower Mainland volunteered to discuss their
experiences of being childless by choice in individual, audio-taped, in-depth interviews with
the researcher. Seven common themes were drawn from the participants' interview
transcripts using Colaizzi's (1978) procedure for phenomenological data analysis.
The results indicated that the women had a strong sense of independence and
autonomy that they believed would be compromised by having children. The women sensed
they needed to maintain control over their own lives and environments, especially controlling
their fertility, their sense of order and certainty, and their home environments. Most of the
women had experienced some uneasiness and discomfort when around children. Parenting
was viewed as an overwhelming responsibility that they perceived included objectionable
emotional investments, sacrifices, and risks. Primarily, the women stated they had no desire
to have children; mothering was perceived as hindering careers and the pursuit of other
meaningful endeavours. Sensing they were different than other women and especially most
married women who "traditionally" are mothers, the participants had rarely directed
"maternal" feelings toward children; they lacked both a desire for children and regret for not
having them. Perceiving that many other people expected them to have children, the women
experienced being called upon to justify their choice and had withstood criticism for choosing
to remain childless. The participants perceived childbearing as optional for women and had
exercised their right not to have children, presenting their choice as a morally responsible act.
The women were constructing their paths through life by evolving a sense of self not
identified with motherhood, but instead, a self characterized and defined by engagement in
other personally fulfilling and meaningful relationships and pursuits.
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Extent |
7345318 bytes
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Genre | |
Type | |
File Format |
application/pdf
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Language |
eng
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Date Available |
2009-02-06
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Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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Rights |
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.
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DOI |
10.14288/1.0054113
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URI | |
Degree | |
Program | |
Affiliation | |
Degree Grantor |
University of British Columbia
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Graduation Date |
1996-05
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Campus | |
Scholarly Level |
Graduate
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Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
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Item Media
Item Citations and Data
Rights
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.