Study: 1 in 5 Michigan adults do not want children
(CBS DETROIT) - One in five adults prefers to live child-free, according to a study from Michigan State University.
MSU officials say the study replicated last year's research that also concluded many adults did not want children. The new study included data from a representative sample of 1,000 people who completed a survey conducted by MSU's Institute for Public Policy and Social Research.
Last year's study found that 21.6% (1.7 million) people in Michigan did not want children.
"We found that 20.9% of adults in Michigan do not want children, which closely matches our earlier estimate of 21.6%, and means that over 1.6 million people in Michigan are child-free," said Jennifer Watling Neal, MSU psychology professor and co-author of the new study.
While many worry if adults who do not have children will regret it, Watling and co-author Zachary Neal say no evidence was found to suggest that older adults living child-free regret any more than the older adults who are parents.
"Many adults are child-free, and there do not seem to be differences by age, education or income," said Neal, who noted that those who are child-free are most commonly White men or anyone who have always been single.
Researchers say with the latest controversy of reproductive health and abortion rights, they are looking into whether restrictions will affect adults' choice to not have children.
"States' restrictions on reproductive health care may result in many people being forced to have children despite not wanting them, which is very concerning," Neal said.
