[The desire for a child in a socio-structural context].
In the EU, Germany is one of the countries showing the lowest birth rate and the highest childlessness rate. The desire for a child competes with a variety of life goals that are propagated as valuable in an achievement-centered society. Psychologically speaking, it can be conceived of as a complex and highly ambivalent conflict between options. In view of adverse societal conditions, women and men at a fertile age face the problems of arbitration and of action insecurity, both of which are associated with the delay of the desire for a child and with abandonment of offspring, respectively. In this article, the socio-structural conditions of the desire for a child and of childlessness are specified, referring to relevant representative surveys, and important steps for overcoming this crisis are suggested.
Institut für Medizinische Psychologie der Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität, Greifswald. wiesmann@uni-greifswald.de
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D001723:Birth Rate; D002668:Child Rearing; D003710:Demography; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005193:Family Planning Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D043762:Reproductive Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors