“A rope always snaps at its thinnest point”: structural factors contributing to childlessness among older men in a resource constrained area
Xu, Wenqian LU
; Kong, Chunyan
and Zhao, Fang
(2025)
In Ageing & Society
p.1-22
- Abstract
- Male childlessness in late adulthood is increasingly prevalent in rural China, indicating a critical need to understand the factors contributing to childlessness among rural men—an often-overlooked group in gerontological and childlessness research. While existing studies have explored individual-level predictors of childlessness over the life course and the implications of broader societal conditions at the population level, little is known about how life course and structural factors interact to shape pathways to childlessness. This study aims to investigate the structural factors contributing to childlessness among older men in a rural area of northern China. A life course analysis was performed on the life stories of 13 childless older... (More)
- Male childlessness in late adulthood is increasingly prevalent in rural China, indicating a critical need to understand the factors contributing to childlessness among rural men—an often-overlooked group in gerontological and childlessness research. While existing studies have explored individual-level predictors of childlessness over the life course and the implications of broader societal conditions at the population level, little is known about how life course and structural factors interact to shape pathways to childlessness. This study aims to investigate the structural factors contributing to childlessness among older men in a rural area of northern China. A life course analysis was performed on the life stories of 13 childless older men, focusing on the effects of history, timing, and interdependencies among life domains. The study found that some participants experienced intense disruptive life events or critical turning points such as early-life caregiving responsibilities, disability, or withdrawal from school that altered their life trajectories in enduring ways. These events often intersected with structural factors, including unstable and low-paid employment, a lack of social protection, and prevailing social norms, which reinforced one another and jointly constrained prospects for marriage and parenthood. These trajectories unfolded within shifting policy contexts, where institutional arrangements across different historical periods shaped and often produced disadvantages in the marriage market. This study advances theoretical understanding of the structural factors contributing to male childlessness by recognising life trajectories, structural shifts, and social relations as linked factors shaping cumulative disadvantage in union formation and childbearing. The findings have policy implications for supporting individuals who intend to form families during critical life transitions and address the broader structural barriers that shape male childlessness in rural areas. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/c71723b8-3965-421c-90fb-fb25cfc84366
- author
- Xu, Wenqian
LU
; Kong, Chunyan
and Zhao, Fang
- organization
- publishing date
- 2025
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- epub
- subject
- in
- Ageing & Society
- pages
- 1 - 22
- publisher
- Cambridge University Press
- ISSN
- 0144-686X
- DOI
- 10.1017/S0144686X25100287
- project
- Ageing without Children
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- c71723b8-3965-421c-90fb-fb25cfc84366
- date added to LUP
- 2025-07-21 23:25:09
- date last changed
- 2025-10-03 13:53:02
@article{c71723b8-3965-421c-90fb-fb25cfc84366,
abstract = {{Male childlessness in late adulthood is increasingly prevalent in rural China, indicating a critical need to understand the factors contributing to childlessness among rural men—an often-overlooked group in gerontological and childlessness research. While existing studies have explored individual-level predictors of childlessness over the life course and the implications of broader societal conditions at the population level, little is known about how life course and structural factors interact to shape pathways to childlessness. This study aims to investigate the structural factors contributing to childlessness among older men in a rural area of northern China. A life course analysis was performed on the life stories of 13 childless older men, focusing on the effects of history, timing, and interdependencies among life domains. The study found that some participants experienced intense disruptive life events or critical turning points such as early-life caregiving responsibilities, disability, or withdrawal from school that altered their life trajectories in enduring ways. These events often intersected with structural factors, including unstable and low-paid employment, a lack of social protection, and prevailing social norms, which reinforced one another and jointly constrained prospects for marriage and parenthood. These trajectories unfolded within shifting policy contexts, where institutional arrangements across different historical periods shaped and often produced disadvantages in the marriage market. This study advances theoretical understanding of the structural factors contributing to male childlessness by recognising life trajectories, structural shifts, and social relations as linked factors shaping cumulative disadvantage in union formation and childbearing. The findings have policy implications for supporting individuals who intend to form families during critical life transitions and address the broader structural barriers that shape male childlessness in rural areas.}},
author = {{Xu, Wenqian and Kong, Chunyan and Zhao, Fang}},
issn = {{0144-686X}},
language = {{eng}},
pages = {{1--22}},
publisher = {{Cambridge University Press}},
series = {{Ageing & Society}},
title = {{“A rope always snaps at its thinnest point”: structural factors contributing to childlessness among older men in a resource constrained area}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X25100287}},
doi = {{10.1017/S0144686X25100287}},
year = {{2025}},
}