Couples who don’t have children are seen as 'immoral', study finds

Child-free couples often worry that other families are looking down their noses at them – and a new study suggests they might be absolutely right.

Not only do people think of couples who choose not to have children as less fulfilled – they see the decision as morally wrong, according to researchers from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

Associate professor Leslie Ashburn-Nardo said, ‘What’s remarkable about our findings is the moral outrage participants reported feeling toward a stranger who decided to not have children.

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‘Our data suggests that not having children is seen not only as atypical, or surprising, but also as morally wrong.

The researchers asked volunteers to read stories about adults – then rate their opinions of that person.

But the stories only varied in whether the person had chosen to have children – or not.

Ashburn-Nardo said, ‘Consistent with many personal anecdotes, participants rated voluntarily child-free men and women as significantly less fulfilled than men and women with children.

‘This effect was driven by feelings of moral outrage — anger, disapproval and disgust — toward the voluntarily child-free people.

‘Having children is obviously a more typical decision, so perhaps people are rightfully surprised when they meet a married adult who, with their partner, has chosen to not have children. That they are also outraged by child-free people is what’s novel about this work.’