Childlessness and Socio-cultural Impact on Married Couples
CHAPTER ONE
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The major objectives of the study are:
- To ascertain the causes of childlessness in the family
- To ascertain the effect of childlessness in the family
- To ascertain the relationship between childlessness and socio-cultural impact
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
INTRODUCTION
Childlessness is the term for people – men and women – having no children. Childlessness may have personal, social and/or political significance. Approximately 70-80 million couples worldwide are currently infertile (Balen, 2009) and it can be estimated that tens of millions of couples are primarily infertile or childless. For most people, having children is immensely important; not being able to have children is a major life problem. There is also a large group of women and men, who have children, possibly from a previous relationship, who desperately wants to have another child. A considerable body of research in Western countries has shown that involuntary childlessness has strong psychological consequences (Greil, 1997). Most of the studies carried out in this domain point in the same direction. There are various psychological and psychosomatic effects, and especially women are affected with. The most frequently mentioned effects are distress, raised depression and anxiety levels, lowered self-esteem, feelings of blame and guilt, somatic complaints, and reduced sexual interest. For a small minority of women and men in the Western world these effects are at a clinical level or can be considered extremely serious (Greil, 1997). Children are obviously important to people all over the world, especially in societies lacking in such inventions as life insurance and socialized medicine. Children may serve as insurance against personal disaster in old-age or infirmity; they may be the means to build useful alliances or to acquire greater wealth, they can be entertaining; they may be a source of status or a sign of virility or fertility; children often strengthen the bond of marriage, and for many people, children may be a source of meaning in life and a palliative for distressing cognitions about death. When a married couple proves to be childless, it is usually a great blow to them and often other people around them. Childlessness is one aspect of the diversity inherent in contemporary experience of marriage and the family. Childlessness is a concern, partly because of its implications for the maintenance of societies and partly because of its unwanted consequences for individuals. Like any other social phenomenon, childlessness needs to be understood within historical, social, and cultural circumstances as well as individual and relational characteristics (Kelly, 2009). In industrialized countries, childlessness was more prevalent at the start of the twentieth century than at the end of the twentieth century. It was, however, less conspicuous because it occurred in conjunction with a large family system; that is, where some had four or more children, partly offset the childlessness of others, keeping birth rates relatively high. In the present situation, one reason why the effects of childlessness are now more apparent is that smaller families are more prevalent, with pronounced preferences for two children; relatively few couples have four or more. Childlessness can now make the difference between maintaining population numbers and precipitating long term.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research design
The researcher used descriptive research survey design in building up this project work the choice of this research design was considered appropriate because of its advantages of identifying attributes of a large population from a group of individuals. The design was suitable for the study as the study sought to childlessness and socio-cultural impact on married couple
Sources of data collection
Data were collected from two main sources namely:
(i)Primary source and
(ii)Secondary source
Primary source:
These are materials of statistical investigation which were collected by the research for a particular purpose. They can be obtained through a survey, observation questionnaire or as experiment; the researcher has adopted the questionnaire method for this study.
Secondary source:
These are data from textbook Journal handset etc. they arise as byproducts of the same other purposes. Example administration, various other unpublished works and write ups were also used.
Population of the study
Population of a study is a group of persons or aggregate items, things the researcher is interested in getting information on childlessness and socio-cultural impact on married couple. 200 selected residents in idah urban community of Kogi State was selected randomly by the researcher as the population of the study.
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION ANALYSIS INTERPRETATION OF DATA
Introduction
Efforts will be made at this stage to present, analyze and interpret the data collected during the field survey. This presentation will be based on the responses from the completed questionnaires. The result of this exercise will be summarized in tabular forms for easy references and analysis. It will also show answers to questions relating to the research questions for this research study. The researcher employed simple percentage in the analysis.
DATA ANALYSIS
The data collected from the respondents were analyzed in tabular form with simple percentage for easy understanding.
A total of 133(one hundred and thirty three) questionnaires were distributed and 133 questionnaires were returned.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Introduction
It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was to ascertain childlessness and socio-cultural impact on married couple
In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefits in addressing the challenges of childlessness and socio-cultural impact on married couple
Summary
This study was on contribution of office managers towards the achievement of organizational goal. Three objectives were raised which included: Investigating whether office managers are needed than their counterpart and whether the remuneration is commensurable with their duties, to know the level of contribution of office managers in organization, to know how their contribution have affected the productivity of the organization . In line with these objectives, two research hypotheses were formulated and two null hypotheses were posited. The total population for the study is 200 staff Dangote group of company Lagos State. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study. A total of 133 respondents made up managers, human resource managers, production managers and maintenance managers were used for the study. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed using simple percentages and frequencies
Conclusion
Conclusively, it is important to note that infertility questions go beyond the core of the individual in African setting. Nevertheless, how men and women respond and the language they use reflect their individual experiences. Listening to their accounts and experiences, one cannot help but imagine the physical and emotional challenges they face on a daily basis in their homes and the community at large. For those who have chosen a treatment option, it is important to understand that infertility treatment in Nigeria is not an easy option because of the emotions and physical difficulty involve and with every failure, the feelings of never becoming a parent are re-visited, in some cases even after success. Childlessness has major psychological and social implications for affected persons, especially in settings where fertility is highly valued. This study have documented how childlessness is perceived in the selected communities and the multitude of adverse consequences suffered by affected individuals, Using quantitative and qualitative methods from this communities, this study explores socio-cultural implication and perception and acceptance of childlessness in these communities , focusing on both voluntary and involuntary childlessness.
Recommendation
A couple is assumed to have problems if after two years of regular and active sexual life, there is no pregnancy. It is, therefore, advisable that you have regular sex. Also appreciate the fact that some women with short or irregular menstrual periods may ovulate during menses. There is nothing wrong with it. Avoid herbal concoctions that are not certified by specialists. Most will worsen your condition. Instead, seek medical attention. Today surgery, hormone treatment and Assisted Reproductive Technology have reduced childlessness but their success depends on factors such as age, health status of couples and even luck. You may adopt or have surrogate. If all attempts fail, couples should accept their condition and stay strong. Knowing that you can never have children is not easy but denying it actually hurts more. Take interest in other people’s children in the neighborhood, social organization and church. They will benefit from your time and your interest. Parenthood is not about biology but about love and care. As you show care and love you become a true model of parenthood. You may also develop new interest and get involved in activities like sports club, music and travel to meet people with kids. It helps you to blend in instead of alienating yourself from the rest of society. Never think that God does not love you. Instead He has given you what in His perfect plan, is the best for you.
REFERENCES
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- Diemer, T., Ludwig, M., Huwe, P., Hales, D. B., & Weidner, W. (2000). Influence of urogenital infection on sperm function. Current opinion in urology, 10(1), 39-44.
- Dyer, S.J., Abrahams, N., Hoffman, M. and van der Spuy, Z.M. (2002). “Men leave me as I cannot have children’: Women’s experiences with involuntary childlessness”, Human Reproduction, 17(6), 1663-1668.
- Eisenberg, M. L., Park, Y., Hollenbeck, A. R., Lipshultz, L. I., Schatzkin, A., & Pletcher, M. J. (2011). Fatherhood and the risk of cardiovascular mortality in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study. Human Reproduction, 305.
