Abstract
Two studies assess attitudes toward the childless life-style. One study uses an unstructured response style in order to determine the motivation for and effects of the decision attributed to the person intending to be childless. The second study assesses the relationship between self-reported attitudes measures. The studies suggest the person selecting the childless life-style may be viewed by others as less well adjusted or misguided in this choice, which is inconsistent with the majority of published data on the childless spouse.
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Some of the data reported in this article were collected while the senior author was a Visiting Senior Lecturer at the University of Western Australia. The financial support provided by the Psychology Department of University of Western Australia is gratefully acknowledged. The data for the unstructured response study was collected by Kathy Gallagher for the author while he was on leave. Her happy cooperation was much appreciated.
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Peterson, R.A. Attitudes toward the childless spouse. Sex Roles 9, 321–331 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00289667
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00289667