Voluntarily childless men: socio-cultural reasons why young Poles are not assuming a parental role

Abstract

The author explores the phenomenon of voluntary childlessness in Poland. She presents the results of her own research as part of a broader analysis of the issue of intentional childlessness. The focus of the article is on the reasons why men do not take on a parental role. The first part of the article covers the socio-cultural context of the research into voluntary childlessness, while the second part discusses the results of qualitative research conducted using, among other things, focus group and in-depth interviews with voluntarily childless men. It shows the reasons why men do not assume a parental role and the types of male childlessness by choice.

Keywords

• transformation of the contemporary family
• voluntary childlessness
• men
• qualitative research