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Contested Parenthood: Attitudes Toward Voluntary Childlessness as a Life Strategy in Post‐Socialist Bulgaria

Author

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  • Elitsa Dimitrova

    (Department of Demography, Institute for Population and Human Studies, Bulgaria / Paisii Hilendarski Plovdiv University, Bulgaria)

  • Tatyana Kotzeva

    (Bourgas Free University, Bulgaria)

Abstract

The article focuses on the social differences in the attitudes toward female and male voluntary childlessness in Bulgaria and their dynamics over time. The analysis is based on data from the European Social Survey conducted in 2006 and 2018 in Bulgaria. By the means of multinomial logistic regression, we test the effect of the period, gender, age, marital status, number of children, education, employment, minority status, and religiosity on attitudes toward childlessness. The results reveal a decrease in negative attitudes and a strong increase of neutral stances. However, higher age of respondents is still associated with an increase in negative attitudes toward voluntary childlessness rather than neutrality. Women are significantly more likely to accept voluntary childlessness than to be neutral compared to men. Respondents who are married, parents, lowly educated, jobless or economically inactive, people belonging to ethnic minority groups, and highly religious people are more likely to disapprove of voluntary childlessness. Perceptions on female or male voluntary childlessness are significantly correlated with attitudes toward extramarital fertility, cohabitation, divorces when children are under twelve years old, and full‐time female employment when children are below the age of three. The analysis of variance reveals that the individuals who accept or are neutral to voluntary childlessness have stronger non‐conformist attitudes emphasizing self‐expression, the idea of “having a good time,” and rejection of traditional authorities compared to the respondents with negative attitudes.

Suggested Citation

  • Elitsa Dimitrova & Tatyana Kotzeva, 2022. "Contested Parenthood: Attitudes Toward Voluntary Childlessness as a Life Strategy in Post‐Socialist Bulgaria," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 10(3), pages 172-183.
    • Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v10:y:2022:i:3:p:172-183
    DOI: 10.17645/si.v10i3.5065
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Margarita Chudnovskaya, 2019. "Trends in Childlessness Among Highly Educated Men in Sweden," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 35(5), pages 939-958, December.
    2. Suzanne Noordhuizen & Paul Graaf & Inge Sieben, 2010. "The Public Acceptance of Voluntary Childlessness in the Netherlands: from 20 to 90 per cent in 30 years," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 99(1), pages 163-181, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ivett Szalma & Hana Hašková & Livia Oláh & Judit Takács, 2022. "Fragile Pronatalism and Reproductive Futures in European Post‐Socialist Contexts," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 10(3), pages 82-86.

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