It has always been the case that part of the population is childless. For many, it’s about infertility due to known or unknown physical reasons – the couple are not pregnant even if they try.
But today growing proportion of people who never have children, unless it is linked to more physical infertility. And the increase comes mainly men, the Norwegian figures.
Read more: Fewer men become fathers
among Norwegians born in 1940, 10 percent of women and 15 percent of men without children at 40 years of age. For those born in 1970, the number increased slightly for the ladies – to 13 percent. But at the same time as 25 percent of men now without children.
Why do more and more men out of family life?
Vegard Skirbekk, a researcher at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria and colleague Morten Blekesaune from the University of Agder has examined how personality affects your chances of having children.
results suggest that this factor plays an increasingly important role.
Neurotic have fewer children
It is no news that personality affects fertility – ie how many children you have.
Studies from several countries, for example, showed that extroversion is often linked to more children . People who score high on extroversion are often social, dominant and active.
also falling trait neuroticism often with fewer children. Neurotic people are often anxious, touchy and emotionally unstable.
Skirbekk and Blekesaune also found these relationships as they went through the data for 7017 Norwegians born between 1927 and 1968.
Read Also: Childless couples live shorter
material also shows that women who are ambitious and self disciplined tend to have fewer children, while the same applies to men who are characterized by openness to new experiences. Perhaps choosing these groups away children in favor of career or experiences.
But some of the most interesting findings in the Norwegian media, revolves around neurotic men.
survey shows that neurotic traits have not always hung together with a greater risk of infertility.
– Neuroticism does not seem to have had any impact on the number of children for men born before 1957. But today it has become an important goal, says Skirbekk to forskning.no.
Greater freedom
There is little reason to believe that it is more men are neurotic today than before, says Skirbekk.
means in this case that this personality trait has become more important for fertility with time. So why is neurotic men more often childless today?
Skirbekk think it might be because we have more freedom to choose now. Freedom to choose partner. But to choose to not have partners or children.
This means that today’s women can choose what they consider to be less attractive fathers, even when they have no better option at hand. Previously this would often be no opportunity.
On the other hand, means freedom also that neurotic men can choose not to have children. There have children involves big commitments and life changes. It may seem unattractive to a person who often worry and struggle with unstable emotions.
– We really do not know if it’s the women who avoid neurotic men as fathers to their children, or whether these men choosing away children, says Skirbekk.
trialling partner
Another possible explanation for the increasing number of childless neurotic men is that we are now much greater samples out a partner before we are talking about marriage or children. It might make some of the criteria we use to select a life partner as we create a family with.
– Personality traits are probably more important than before. Before they were possibly more concerned about other properties that could be seen without being partner with someone like position or income, says Skirbekk.
See also: Happy childless socialite
He believes such a change can affect men in particular. Previous research has suggested that women were more likely than men considering the quality of the relationship continuously, ending relationships they perceive as unsatisfactory, enter the two scientists.
It may also be that there are indirect causes of the neurotic men fall out.
Several studies, for example, suggested that the man’s income still does quite a lot for women’s mate choice. And other studies suggest that neurotic men often earn less than average.
Norway prevail
There are undoubtedly many factors that may lie behind the figures showing that today’s neurotic men are more often childless.
One can also imagine some possibility that the relationship goes the other way: Maybe the men were neurotic because they did not get fulfilled life goal to have a family?
On the other hand, many studies point towards that personality does not change particularly in adulthood, according Skirbekk and Blekesaune.
Skirbekk notes that their preliminary results show relatively small differences in fertility between different personalities. But researchers believe it may be the start of a trend where personality is gaining more say.
This may also apply internationally.
– We have often seen that Norway takes precedence in the development, and it follows many parts of the world for.
so, maybe we should be aware that some types of personalities have a greater tendency to fall off.
– If there is such that some neurotic men want children but do not have the chance, they might be helped to adapt so that it goes anyway. There are psychological treatment to get more control on worries and emotional fluctuations.
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