기혼여성의 무자녀 결정 시기와 요인에 관한 연구

Abstract

There is a lack of quantitative and qualitative research on childless families. Childless families haven't been examined thoroughly yet. Nevertheless, the social gaze on childless families is negative or distorted. This research focuses on how women decide about their childlessness in a society in which the dominant norm is that married women should have children and where childbirth is deemed as an inevitable issue for married women. It, furthermore, investigates the paths on which childless married women deviate from the dominant norms. Accordingly, married women's timing and factors of making the decision to stay childless were examined through in-depth interviews. Regarding women’s timing of making the decision on being childless, I distinguish ‘before’ and ‘after’ their marriage. The cases which involve infertility factors have been divided into 'before' and 'after' infertility treatment such as Artificial Insemination(AI) or In Vitro Fertilization(IVF). The factors which determine the childlessness have been classified into 6 themes: (1) Innate propensity of individuals, (2) preference on pursuing personal goals, (3) influence of the spouse or the reference group, (4) lack of financial resources for the upbringing of children, (5) obligation and responsibility as a parent, (6) burden of artificial pregnancy. Childless families were divided into four types according to the presence or absence of infertility factors and timing of making the decision on being childless. The study found that within these families there are relative differences in the awareness of the actor's subjectivity and the circumstances that result in the decision on being childless. Childless women are increasingly paying more attention to the quality of their own lives relative to the matter of having children. At the same time, they are considering that the relationship between children and themselves involves children's rights. These changes of consciousness imply a certain degree of reflectivity on the self- understanding of women and on the competitive society to which they belong.