Navigating the unexpected Lifescape: the invisible experiences of older childless men

Hadley, Robin ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4254-7648 (2014) Navigating the unexpected Lifescape: the invisible experiences of older childless men. In: The Ageing Forum 2014, 30 April 2014, Keele University, UK. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

The global trend of a declining fertility rate and an increasingly ageing population has been extensively reported. Childless men are, compared to women, missing in gerontological, sociological, infertility, and psychological research. This paper describes a PhD study of the life experiences of older involuntarily childless men. In-depth biographical interviews were conducted countrywide with 14 men, aged between 49 and 82 years. The thematic analysis showed the complex intersections between men’s experience of involuntary childlessness and agency, structure, and relationships. The findings showed a range of diverse elements that affected the transitions related to ageing and involuntary childlessness: interpersonal skills, partner selection, timing of relationships, social networks, and the assumption of fertility. The importance of relationship quality, and the significance of being partnered, was highlighted in the profile of the social networks. Four of the men negotiated a form of ‘grandfatherhood’ role: Adopted, Latent, Surrogate, and Proxy.