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Research report no.11 2004

'It's not for lack of wanting kids...'
A report on the Fertility Decision Making Project

by Ruth Weston, Lixia Qu, Robyn Parker and Michael Alexander

3. Current parenting circumstances and aspirations

This chapter first outlines "parenting status" (that is, whether respondents have children or not) and the number of children men and women in their early and late twenties and thirties have had.⁷ It then focuses on the extent to which "parenting status" varies according to their circumstances regarding relationships, education and employment.

A number of reasons were behind the decision to focus on these particular socio-demographic variables. As noted in Chapter 1, delays in forming partnerships and increases in relationship breakdown are clearly important factors contributing to the declining total fertility rate. Secondly, while the development of "human capital" in terms of educational level and attachment to paid work can delay partnering and family formation, research noted in Chapter 1 suggests that men with limited resources in the spheres of educational qualifications and paid work were more likely than other men to be unpartnered.

This situation would obviously restrict their chances of having a child or more children. On the other hand, compared with other women, those with high educational qualifications typically have greater opportunities to pursue a well-paid career. As McDonald has emphasised (e.g. McDonald 1998, 2002), such women tend to have the most to lose by reducing or severing their attachment to the paid labour force.

While educational status is a better indicator of career opportunities than current employment status for young adults, the relationship between aspirations and hours of paid work is examined. For women in particular, such employment circumstances are often shaped by the ages of their children, particularly the age of their youngest child (de Vaus 2004), although many women working less than full-time if at all may have limited "human capital" that might enable them to pursue careers. This was demonstrated in Chapter 3, particularly for those in their thirties.

Before parenting status and family size is examined, it is important to point out that 6 per cent of men and 10 per cent of women indicated that they could not have, or were unlikely to be able to have, a child in the future. Some had had a sterilization procedure (5% of all men and 6% of all women); others who had not been sterilized felt that they were unable to have children even with fertility treatments such as in-vitro fertilization (IVF) (less than 1% of all men and women, taken separately), and still others felt that they were unlikely to have children but may achieve this with fertility treatment (less than 1 per cent of all men and 3 per cent of all women). Most of these respondents who indicated that conception were not possible or unlikely already had children (71% of men and 78% of women).

Of respondents with partners, 15 per cent indicated that either they or their partner had been sterilized, 1 per cent felt that, owing to their own or their partner's fecundity problems, conception was unlikely even with fertility treatment, and 4 per cent felt that conception may be achievable with fertility treatments. However, 86 per cent of these already had children.

3.1 Parenting status and age

Given the higher proportion of single men than women in the sample, and the fact that men tend to be older than their partners, it is not surprising that men were considerably less likely to have had a child at the time of the interview (34% vs 59%). Figure 3.1 shows that this gender difference was apparent across the four five-year age groups (those in their early and late twenties and thirties), while Table 3.1 presents details about family size.

In total, around two thirds of all men and just over 40 per cent of all women had no children - a situation that applied to three quarters or more men under 30 years old and women under 25 years old. Only in the age group 35-39 years were men more likely to have, than not have, children. For women, this likelihood cuts in earlier (at 30-34 years). By their late thirties, men and women had, on average, 1.3 and 1.9 children.

Despite the effectiveness of contraceptive methods and their widespread availability, along with increased availability of abortion since the 1970s, it is worth noting that close to 30 per cent of births were seen as resulting from unexpected pregnancies (men's report: 28%; women's report: 30%).

3.2 Parenting status and relationship status

In this report, the variable "relationship status" has the following categories: married, cohabiting, or single, but in this section, the "single" category is further unpacked. Although cohabitation may be treated as "social marriage", "unregistered marriage" or "de facto marriage", for succinctness, only those who were in a registered marriage (and living with their spouse) are described as "married", while the term "unmarried" is used to encompass all those who were either cohabiting or single. The single groups included those who reported that they were in a committed relationship, in a casual relationship, or in no relationship. The latter are classified as "single and seeing no-one".

As noted in Chapter 2, most men and women were either in a registered marriage and living with their spouse (30% and 46% respectively) or in no live-in relationship (here defined as "single": 53% versus 38%). More men than women were single, more women than men were in a registered marriage, and equal proportions were "cohabiting" (that is, in a "de facto" or "social" marriage: 16% and 16% respectively).

Of course, there may be considerable uncertainty about whether or not a couple is "cohabiting", or whether each "partner" is even committed to the other. One partner may hold different ideas about such issues than the other. However, research by Qu (2003) suggests that most people who are cohabiting expect to marry their partner, and amongst couples, there is a high level of agreement about their likelihood of marriage (with nearly half the cohabiting couples agreeing that they would marry).

Table 3.2 uses two of the three main relationship status categories but further unpacks the "single" category. Not surprisingly, this table shows that relationship status was strongly related to age. For instance, the proportion of men who were married increased from 5 per cent of those in their early twenties to 54 per cent of those in their late thirties; for women, the proportions who were married increased from 12 per cent to 64 per cent respectively. It is therefore important to take into account the age of respondents (as well as the number of children they have) when assessing links between fertility aspirations and relationship status (Table 3.2).

Figure 3.2 shows that, while those who were married were most likely to be parents, most women in their thirties in each relationship status group were parents - here defined as having a biological or adopted child. Given that men tend to be older than their partners, it is not surprising that they were generally less likely than their female counterparts to be parents. Around one quarter of single men in their thirties were parents.

These trends highlight the strong link between relationship status and childbearing. Of course, some couples may marry after (and because) they have decided to have a child. Other couples may only begin to seriously entertain the idea of having children after they have married. Whatever the direction of any causal relationships, marriage and children certainly go together.

3.3 Parenting status and educational level

In a cross-sectional study that involves many respondents who are in the process of preparing for their future work life, it is more difficult to assess career-related opportunity costs of having children. The measure of education used throughout this report covers highest educational qualifications achieved or being pursued. Achieved qualifications were used for those not currently enrolled in a course of study or training. Hakim (2003b) argues that home-centred, work-centred, and adaptive women may all pursue educational qualifications but for different reasons. Nevertheless, there is ample evidence that family size tends to be greater amongst women with limited education than amongst those with higher education, although the gap is narrowing because the rate of fall in fertility has been faster for those with limited education (de Vaus 2004; McDonald 2000d).

Table 3.3 shows that patterns of educational status were similar for men and women. Around 44 per cent had or were studying for a degree or higher qualification, just over one quarter had or were seeking other post-school qualifications (e.g., a trade certificate or non-graduate diploma), and the remainder had achieved either Year 12 only or a lower educational level. (Very few were currently enrolled in secondary education.)

Not surprisingly, parenting status varied significantly with educational status for both men and women in their twenties and thirties (taken separately) (Figure 3.3). Those with no post-school qualifications were the most likely to be parents, while those with or pursuing a degree or higher qualification were the least likely to be in this position. These differences were particularly marked for women in their twenties: 65 per cent of those with no post-school qualifications were parents, compared with only 19 per cent of those with or pursuing a degree or higher qualification. This is not surprising given that pursuit of education typically requires postponement of childbearing. Interestingly, across both age groups, men with no post-school qualifications were more likely to be parents, while those in their thirties with no post-school qualifications were less likely to be partnered (46% vs 35%-39%). A relatively higher proportion of these men with lower qualifications may have experienced difficulties in maintaining relationships - a point noted by Birrell et al. (2004) regarding men with limited financial resources or low socio-economic status. It is noteworthy that the current sample of single men with no post-school qualifications were more likely than other single men to be parents (26% vs 7%-12%).

However, of all groups represented in Figure 3.3, those most likely to be parents were women in their thirties with no post-school qualifications - in fact, almost all such women were parents (91%). It is noteworthy that parents were almost equally represented amongst women in their thirties who had or were pursuing degrees and women in their twenties with no post-school qualifications (64% and 65%), as well as men in their thirties with no post-school qualifications (62%).

3.4 Parenting status and employment status

The final set of analyses in this section on current circumstances focused on employment status, where those in paid work were sub-divided according to whether they usually worked 35 or more hours per week (here called "full-time", regardless of whether these total hours were generated from one or more jobs), up to 34 hours (here called "part-time"), or not at all. While current educational pursuits or achievements would be a better indicator of career opportunities than current employment status for young adults, lack of full-time paid work amongst men in their thirties is likely to be associated with relatively poor financial circumstances (although a few may have given up full-time paid work voluntarily in order to devote more time to caring for their children).

For women in their late twenties and early thirties, current employment circumstances are often shaped by the ages of their children, particularly the age of their youngest child (de Vaus 2004). At the same time, engagement in full time paid work may to some extent reflect a current emphasis on developing or improving their finances and perhaps "human capital" instead of, or perhaps in preparation for, having children. It is not surprising that, for both women in their twenties and in their thirties, those with part-time work or no paid work were less likely to have degrees than those with full-time work (women in their 20s: 26%-28% vs 47%; women in their 30s: 32%-35% vs 50%). However, a number of women in their twenties who were working part-time or not at all were studying. In total, the proportions of women in their twenties who were either pursuing or had achieved degrees were as follows: 39 per cent who were not in paid work, 50 per cent who had part-time paid work, and 53 per cent who had full-time paid work.

Table 3.4 shows that full time work applied to just under half (48%) of men in their early twenties, around two-thirds in their late twenties and early thirties (67% and 64% respectively), and around three quarters (74%) of those in their late thirties. On the other hand, the proportions in part-time paid work decreased with increasing age from 22 per cent to only 5 per cent. Between 21 per cent and 30 per cent in each age group had no paid work.

Given that parenting status, which is age-related, has such a strong impact on women's employment status it should not be surprising that trends for women differed markedly from those of men. Those most likely to be in full-time work were women in their late twenties (41%) - the age when pursuit of education has typically ceased, while childbearing may continue to be postponed. Between 39 per cent and 46 per cent of women in each age group were not in paid employment.

Figure 3.4 shows considerable diversity in the representation of parents in these groups. Not surprisingly, the strongest relationships between parenting and employment statuses occurred for women.⁸ Not surprisingly, the vast majority of women in their thirties who were not in full-time paid work were mothers (79% - 91%) - a situation that applied to less than half the women in full-time paid work (44%).

While virtually the same proportion of women in their thirties with part-time or no paid work were mothers (88% and 91% respectively), of the women in their twenties, a higher proportion of those women without any paid work than with part-time paid work were mothers (61% vs 40%). For each age group, women who were in full-time paid work were less likely than their counterparts with part-time or no paid work to be mothers (women in their twenties: 13% vs 40% - 61%; women in their thirties: 44% vs 88% - 91%). Only 13 per cent of women in their twenties who were in full-time paid work were parents.

For men in their thirties, similar proportions in the three employment status groups were fathers (48% - 55%). And while only a small proportion of men in their twenties were fathers, men with part-time work were the least likely to have a child (6% vs 17% - 18%).

3.5 Summary and conclusions

This chapter has shown that half of the respondents were parents. A higher proportion of women than men were parents and the majority of men in their late thirties and women in their early and late thirties had achieved this status. Relationship status varied with age and parenting status in understandable ways. Married men and women in their twenties and thirties were the most likely of the three relationship status groups to be parents. For these two age groupings, men and women with no post-school qualifications were the most likely to be parents, while their counterparts with or pursuing a degree or higher qualification were the least likely to be in this position.

For men in their twenties, those with full-time or no paid work were more likely than those with part-time paid work to be fathers, but for men in their thirties, there was little difference in the proportions who had fathered a child in each of these three groups. Marked differences applied to women in their twenties and thirties: those in full-time paid work were considerably less likely than other women to be parents. In fact, almost all women in their thirties who were not in fulltime paid work were parents.

7. Throughout this report, we use the term "family size" to refer to the number of children respondents have had or adopted, thereby avoiding the more technical term "achieved fertility". However, it is important to recognise that family size, as defined here does not include stepchildren or foster children, but does include any of the respondents' children living elsewhere. For succinctness in describing trends, we use the term "parents" to refer exclusively to those who have given birth to, fathered, or adopted a child. [back]
8. p<.001 for women in their twenties and thirties; p<.05 for men in the twenties; NS for men in their thirties. [back]

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