Tracking types of non-parents in the United States

Abstract

Background

Efforts to document different types of non-parents have distinguished those who are voluntarily childless, involuntarily childless, and temporarily childless. However, an expanded approach is needed to incorporate the role of non-biological children and to classify individuals who do not want children despite infecundity or who are undecided about wanting children.

Objective

This study operationalizes the Attitudes, Behavior, and Circumstances (ABC) framework for application to the US National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) data and examines demographics and trends in types of non-parents that differ in their attitudes and circumstances surrounding having children.

Methods

Using data collected in each wave of the NSFG since 2002, this study classifies non-parents into six types: childfree, biologically childless, socially childless, not yet parents, ambivalent, and undecided. It then presents weighted estimates of the prevalence and demographic composition of each type.

Results

The NSFG contains sufficient information to classify 99.38% of all respondents, with not yet parents consistently ranked as the most common type and childfree individuals consistently ranked as the second most common type. From 2002 to 2022–2023, there is evidence of a decline in the prevalence of not yet parents and an increase in the prevalence of childfree, undecided, and ambivalent individuals.

Conclusion

Using the ABC framework to operationalize types of non-parents in the NSFG can complement existing approaches to classifying non-parents.