Bewältigung des unerfüllten Kinderwunsches

The article reviews current research in relation to two aspects of involuntary childlessness; firstly, the extent to which involuntary childlessness can be considered a critical life-event and secondly, the short-term effects of childlessness on life-satisfaction and well-being. A study is reported in which 68 middle-aged women (45 to 65 years) who are long term childless because of infertility, are investigated. The study focuses on the extent to which unfilled desire for a child has long term effects on well-being and life-satisfaction. The control group comprised 68 women who did not suffer from fertility problems and became pregnant spontaneously. Life-satisfaction and well-being were assessed using the life-satisfaction questionaire (FLZ; Fahrenberg et al. 2000) and the SCL-90-R (Symptome-Checklist, Derogatis, the German version of Franke 1995). The study shows clearly that psychological well-being is significantly lower in childless middle-aged women compared to women of the same mean age, who have a child. No significant differences were found in social well-being and health. The results support the view that unwanted childlessness may become a chronic stressor. Unintentionally childless middle-aged women do not constitute a clinical group whose need for psychotherapy is urgent. However, the development of specific counselling for women who fail to conceive and those who remain childless in the long term is recommended.     

Aging,Spirituality, and Time: A Qualitative Study

We examined the concepts of aging, time, spirituality, and future care needs in four randomly selected informants from a group of 54 never-married childless older women. Using data from the Generativity and Lifestyles of Older Women (GLOW) study, we questioned how women’s perceptions of these concepts came together in current older age. We employed cultural theory, (our theoretical framework), ethnography, (our methodological framework), and phenomenology, (our philosophical foundation) to produce a portrait of each woman interviewed. Through a three-session interview process, we elicited the women’s life stories, reasons for childlessness, and topics that emerged as significant to the women, including aging, a sense of time remaining, and spirituality. A key finding was that the context of each woman’s life, both biographical and historical, transpired as a foundation for these concepts. That is, a woman’s “place in time” shaped their experiences of aging, as well as her reasons for childlessness and perceptions of finitude.     

The Relative Rewards and Costs of Childlessness for Older Women

Currently married or widowed women aged 60–75 (N = 719), either childless or with one or more children, were interviewed about advantages and disadvantages of childlessness and about other family-related and social areas. Results indicate that childless older women did not conform to a stereotype of unhappiness and dissatisfaction. Respondents with and without children valued the rewards of their particular lifestyle and perceived costs in the other.     

Perceptions of informal sanctioning and the stigma of involuntary childlessness

This study systematically examines the role of informal social response in the emergence of involuntary childlessness or infertility as a stigmatizing attribute. Seventy‐one involuntarily childless women provide detailed instances of perceived informal social sanctions related to their infertility. Subjects perceive that normals consider infertility to be caused by psychological or sexual malfunctioning, or by the woman in the dyad. Infertility is also seen by some to act as a master status. Subjects categorize other infertile individuals in terms of stigma and consider male infertility to be more stigmatizing than female infertility. Social sanctions and social control are shown to be relevant to an understanding of the experience of involuntary childlessness.     

Attitudes Toward Voluntary and Involuntary Childlessness

Prior research has documented negative attitudes toward the voluntarily childless. Although research indicates that infertile couples perceive their condition to be discrediting, the extent to which the public considers involuntary childlessness as a negative attribute is unclear. Infertility might be construed by many to be a disease of professional couples overly concerned with careers or too stressed to conceive. In this experiment, 215 university students read one of six scenarios describing a couple as either: (a) voluntarily childless, involuntarily childless, or having children; or (b) holding professional or nonprofessional employment. Subjects rated each member of the couple on 26 characteristics (e.g., ambitious, caring, and stressed) and responded to 12 items concerning the quality and strength of the couple's relationship. Results support prior research demonstrating a stigma of voluntary childlessness but suggest that involuntary childlessness is not universally stigmatizing and may actually lead to some positive attributions. Recommendations for future research and applications are discussed.     

Timing of the decision to remain voluntarily childless: evidence for continuous socialization

This study contrasts different types of voluntary childlessness. Women who decided to remain childless relatively early in life, before marriage ( early articulators ) were compared with women who did not decide until after they had married and developed a preferred life style that did not include children ( postpones ). The comparison centered on a previously formulated model that explained the decision to remain childless in terms of family background factors, autonomy and achievement orientation in adulthood, and reference group support. The major difference disclosed by this research was with respect to family background factors. In addition to the early versus later decision to remain childless, socialization patterns in the family of orientation differentiate the two types of voluntarily childless women.     

The Role of Generativity in Psychological Well-Being: Does it Differ for Childless Adults and Parents?

Given that parenthood is considered a central adult status with developmental implications, and an increasing number of adults are childless, we assessed whether adult development is structured differently for parents and non-parents. This study’s main goal was to assess and compare the connection between generativity development—a key task of middle adulthood—and psychological well-being for childless adults (N = 289) and parents (N = 2,218), ages 35–74, using the 1995 MIDUS dataset. We also examined differences in these associations for women and men by parental status, because childlessness is often assumed to be more critical for females’ than males’ development. Structural equation modeling indicated a positive association between generativity and psychological well-being. Differences in this association for parents and childless adults were not evident, nor were there significant differences for childless women and mothers, and childless men and fathers. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

Psychological Interpbetation by Leon H. Levy

Hispanics in the United States mainland underutilize mental health services and drop out of treatment sooner than dominant culture groups. One reason for this problem is that the sociocultural value orientation and expectations of the Hispanic patient are discordant with the values and expectations of the professional offering help. This paper focuses on the special problems resulting from the sociocultural differences between therapist and patient, and discusses why group therapy is uniquely suited to address these problems. It argues that group therapy offered by a leader with knowledge of the culture has an advantage over other forms of treatment in engaging Hispanic patients and in helping them to increase the effective use of mental health services. Issues of group formation, pregroup contracting, and the stages in the life of a Hispanic therapy group are also discussed.     

Women's experiential journey toward voluntary childlessness: An interpretative phenomenological analysis

Voluntary childlessness is a relatively novel yet growing phenomenon. This idiographic study explored three women's experiential journeys toward voluntary childlessness. Semi‐structured interviews were carried out and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Themes identified were: Owning the choice to be childless, social expectations, and models of mothering. Despite defining ‘voluntary childlessness’ as an unequivocal decision, the women's experiential accounts revealed an intrinsic fluidity in their journeys toward childlessness. Factors including beliefs in equality, independence and career aspirations competed with constructs of mothering/motherhood, partnership and choice to create a complex tapestry of contributory factors in these women's childlessness. The findings question the notion of choice and particularly women's ownership of that choice. The journeys toward childlessness these women shared reveal a synthesis of agentic decision‐making, personal histories and challenging lifestyle choices bound up within an existential need to be a woman. More research is needed to determine the place of voluntary childlessness within society. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Through the Lenses of Gender, Race, and Class: Students’ Perceptions of Childless/Childfree Individuals and Couples

Earlier research has documented negative perceptions of childless couples, particularly the voluntarily childfree, among college students. In this project we used hypothetical vignettes to assess variations in students’ (N?=?478) perceptions of childless couples related to the couple’s race, occupations of husband and wife, and assumed reasons for childlessness. Perceptions were strongly influenced by occupational status and gender, but we found few race differences. Neither infertility nor chosen childlessness was rated negatively, but couples were rated more positively if they were perceived as temporarily rather than permanently childless. Our findings suggest that delayed parenthood is regarded as normative and that students have few negative biases regarding infertility or chosen childlessness. Perceptions were strongly conditioned by economic and employment considerations, which reflect current concerns about balancing work and family trajectories.     

Women, money, and psychodynamic group psychotherapy.

Developmental concerns and sociocultural expectations may keep female patients and therapists from addressing financial issues openly in group psychotherapy. Interpersonal theory provides a different view of nurturing that may help women leaders deal better with financial discussions in group. This paper includes a review of the literature on group psychotherapy and fees; feminist literature relevant to leadership; money management in group therapy; countertransference; and case examples.     

The Sociocultural Context of Sexually Diverse Women’s Sexual Desire

Women’s sexual desire is a complex, multifaceted phenomenon. According to the biopsychosocial model of female sexual function, a comprehensive understanding of women’s sexuality requires awareness of the presence of and interaction between biological, psychological, interpersonal, and sociocultural factors. Other sexuality scholars in the field have similarly stressed this perspective, emphasizing that sexual desire in particular is impacted by medical, relational, psychological, and sociocultural influences. Given the influence of sociocultural variables like sexism and heterosexism on women’s lives, we sought to understand the impact of the sociocultural context on sexual desire in 31 bisexual, lesbian, and heterosexual women. Women ranged in age from 20 to 69 and answered a number of questions related to their experience of sexual desire and the ways in which desire related to their sexual identity. The semi-structured interviews focused on women’s retrospective, subjective accounts of their experiences. Using a consensual qualitative research approach and thematic analysis, the interviews revealed four themes and seven subthemes: (1) minority stress (heterosexist discrimination, stigmatized identities, coming out, impact of visible/safe spaces); (2) gender expectations (gendered relationship expectations, gender binary impacts, body image); (3) religion; and (4) taboo and changing cultural times. Participant responses suggest that the sociocultural context can influence the sexual desire of diverse women, supporting both sexual desire exploration and suppression of desire expression by context. Practice and advocacy considerations include understanding of the impact of systems of privilege and oppression (e.g., sexism, heterosexism, racism) on women’s sexual desire experiences and opportunities for supporting diverse women’s sexual empowerment.     

Blatant Stereotype Threat and Women's Math Performance: Self-Handicapping as a Strategic Means to Cope with Obtrusive Negative Performance Expectations

Research on the effect of stereotype threat has consistently shown that a reduction of stereotype threat due to decreased salience of negative stereotypic expectations in testing situations results in a performance boost. This article reports on an experiment (n = 75 high school students) designed to test the impact of increased salience of negative stereotypic expectations on math performance. As expected, female participants in the condition of heightened salience of negative stereotypic expectations underperformed in comparison to their control group counterparts. Moreover, it was found that the effect of blatant stereotype threat resulted in increased self-handicapping tendencies in women, which in turn led to significantly impaired math performance.     

The state of motherhood among professional women

Faculty women at Northwestern University were studied. The focus was on their rate of childlessness and attitude toward having children. The 151 subjects were classified into two age groups: women of childbearing age — under 40 — and women much less likely to have children — 40 and over. Although women ever married in the professional sample had a higher rate of childlessness than women ever married in the general population in all age groups, there seemed to be a trend toward permanent childlessness among younger professional women: Their rate of childlessness (67%) is much higher than that of the older professionals (22%) or the younger women in the general population. Based on additional qualitative and quantitative data, a possible explanation for the younger professional women's behavior seems to be that they are not confident that they can successfully combine motherhood and career. Possible implications of this phenomenon are discussed.     

The Archaic Personality Structure of Alcoholics and Its Implications for Group Therapy

The purpose of this investigation was to obtain a better understanding of the nature of expectations about group psychotherapy, given a consistent body of research pointing to the relationship between specific treatment expectancies and premature termination. The Group Therapy Survey was developed and utilized to assess the predominant beliefs, attitudes, and expectations of 206 clinical and nonclinical subjects toward group therapy. The results of the investigation reflected three major categories of expectations: (1) Group therapy is unpredictable, (2) group therapy is not as effective as individual therapy, and (3) group therapy can be detrimental to participants. Possible explanations for the origin and development of such expectations are entertained, including the publicizing of the more radical aspects of the encounter group movement and other negative portrayals of group therapy in the media and the film industry. Recommendations are offered concerning the use of the survey prior to intake or a pregroup orientation interview in order to tailor a discussion to the prospective client's personality, expectations, and problems.     

Short-term homogeneous group therapy for schizophrenic inpatients: A questionnaire evaluation

Traditional, insightoriented group therapy with a heterogeneous patient population has not been effective in the short-term inpatient setting. We have experimented with a homogeneous group therapy format where all of the patients have been acutely psychotic schizophrenics. Clinically, this approach has been found to be useful. Questionnaires filled out by the patients at the time of discharge have supported this conclusion. The patients valued the group more as a place to express their feelings and learn ways of interacting with others than as a place to test reality or receive advice on practical issues.     

Therapy Expectations of Adolescents with Depression Entering Psychodynamic Psychotherapy: A Qualitative Study

Patient expectations about therapy have been regarded as a common factor affecting the course and outcome of psychotherapy. However, little is known about the expectations of adolescents. We aimed to explore the therapy expectations of young people (YP) with depression prior to psychotherapy. We conducted semi-structured interviews with six YP (5 female, 15–19 years old) entering psychodynamic outpatient treatment. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. The careful analysis of the YPs’ accounts yielded the following four key themes: not knowing but being cautiously hopeful; therapy as a long and difficult process; therapy as a place to understand oneself and to develop; and the importance of the professional and interpersonal skills of the therapist. The findings suggest to foster realistic treatment and outcome expectations while at the same time individual therapists should pay careful attention to the specific expectations that YP bring into therapy.     

Maintaining Men's Dominance: Negotiating Identity and Power When She Earns More

This article examines the power dynamics in marriages where wives earn substantially more than their husbands based on in-depth interviews with husbands and wives in 30 couples. The results demonstrate how normative gender expectations constrain interactions between spouses and how spouses in these unconventional marriages struggle to construct appropriate gender identities that are more or less consistent with the conventional expectations that men should be breadwinners and women should be homemakers. These data represent an important counterpoint to the growing body of quantitative work that demonstrates that a woman's power diminishes as her income exceeds her husband's by illuminating how men's power is preserved within marriage, even in the absence of their traditional economic dominance.     

Weight discrepancy and body appreciation among women in Poland and Britain

Previous studies have suggested that the process of transmigration has detrimental effects on the body image of migrants relative to women in the country of origin. In the present work, we examined the body image of Polish migrants in Britain (n = 153), Polish women in Poland (n = 153), and a comparison group of British White women (n = 110). Participants completed a measure of actual-ideal weight discrepancy and the Body Appreciation Scale (BAS). Contrary to hypotheses, our results showed that Polish women in Poland had significantly higher weight discrepancy than their counterparts in Britain. Further analyses showed that the BAS reduced to two dimensions among Polish participants, with Polish participants in Poland having significantly lower body appreciation than Polish migrants. We suggest that the sociocultural changes that have taken place in Eastern Europe may place women in that region at relatively high risk for developing negative body image.