Barnfri- ett lyckligt utanförskap : En kvantitativ studie av barnfria kvinnors livstillfredsställelse och utanförskap

Sammanfattning: Through quantitative methods, we sought answers to the questions “Can one identify systematic differences in perceived life satisfaction among childfree women and mothers?”, “Can one identify systematic differences in perceived alienation among childfree women and mothers?”, and “Is it possible to apply Link and Phelan’s model of stigmatization to childfree women as a group?” We reached our conclusions by constructing and distributing a survey to our target group. We then analyzed the 215 responses by applying Veenhoven’s theory of happiness and tested the results against Link & Phelan’s model of stigmatization. Our results show that there are no distinct differences in perceived life satisfaction between mothers and childfree women per se. Instead, the difference is in a woman’s satisfaction with the outcome of her choice, regardless of her choice. However, we did find that childfree women tend to feel more excluded when compared to women with children. This indicates strongly integrated pronatalist norms in the Swedish society and contributes to the possible stigmatization of childfree women.