The shifting sands of parenthood: Americans re-evaluate family plans

Recent data from Pew Research Center suggests that Americans are rethinking whether they want to become parents. This could be part of a long-term trend, as a research team from Michigan State University found that the percentage of nonparents in the United States who never want children has doubled over the past 20 years.

We found that the percentage of nonparents who don't want any children rose from 14% in 2002 to 29% in 2023. During the same period, the percent of nonparents who plan to have children in the future fell from 79% to 59%."

Jennifer Watling Neal, Study Co-Author and Professor, Psychology Department, Michigan State University

The study –– published in the Journal of Marriage and Family –– categorized nonparents into several types, including "childfree" people who do not want children, "childless" people who wanted children but can't have them, and "not yet parents" who plan to have children in the future.

The researchers used data from the National Survey of Family Growth, which surveyed 80,000 adults across seven waves between 2002 and 2023. Because most research using these data focuses on women's biological fertility, Watling Neal explained that this study is one of the first to consider both men and women as well as desires for both biological and nonbiological children.

"We knew from our prior research that childfree adults were a large and growing group in Michigan," said Zachary Neal, MSU professor of psychology and co-author of the study. "These new results confirm this is part of a nationwide trend that has been unfolding for over 20 years."

Different types of nonparents have different needs. One nonparent group whose needs are frequently discussed are childless adults who want children but have had difficulty conceiving and who may seek fertility treatments. However, Neal noted that "relatively few nonparents are childless, and the size of this group has been stable for many years."

In contrast, as the population of childfree adults continues to grow, it will be important to ensure their unique needs are met. As Watling Neal explained, "childfree adults have needs for long-term contraception and for retirement planning that doesn't assume having heirs, but medical and financial service providers often aren't equipped to meet these needs."

The research team will next explore trends in types of nonparents globally and the role that economics and politics may play.