Kinderwunsch bei Männern: was sie motiviert, was sie abschreckt
Familienplanung: Warum Männer (keine) Kinder wollen
Beim Thema gewollte Kinderlosigkeit drehte sich die Debatte bisher meist um die Sorgen und Wünsche von Frauen. Jetzt rücken die Motive der Männer ins Rampenlicht: Was hält sie davon ab, Vater werden zu wollen – und was bewegt sie dazu? Sieben zentrale Erkenntnisse der Forschung.
Wer sich für ein Leben mit Kindern entscheidet, dem ist meist klar, dass damit auch gewisse »Opfer« verbunden sind.
»Ich wollte nie Kinder, mein Sohn war ein ›Unfall‹«, sagt Timo N. (Name geändert), der an einer unserer Studien teilgenommen hat. Tatsächlich werden auch heute noch überraschend viele Männer ungewollt Vater. Doch repräsentative Umfragen in Deutschland belegen zugleich, dass Kinder in den allermeisten Fällen das Ergebnis einer bewussten Entscheidung von Paaren sind. Was aber bestimmt, ob man Kinder will oder nicht: eigene Kindheitserfahrungen, die Lebensumstände, die Erwartungen des sozialen Umfelds?
Im Jahr 1961 wurde »die Pille« in Deutschland eingeführt. Rund zehn Jahre später fiel die Geburtenziffer in Ost und West unter jene magischen 2,1 Kinder pro Frau, die eigentlich zum Bevölkerungserhalt notwendig wären. Inzwischen verzeichnet Deutschland seit Jahrzehnten eine Rate von weniger als 1,6 – trotz Elterngeld und rechtlichem Anspruch auf einen Krippenplatz. Hat man bei den Maßnahmen zur Familienförderung vielleicht etwas Entscheidendes übersehen? Erstaunlicherweise klaffte bei der Erforschung von Kinderwunsch und gewollter Kinderlosigkeit bis vor Kurzem eine große Lücke: Der Fokus lag fast ausschließlich auf den Frauen.
In unserer Studie »Männer, Männlichkeit und (eigene) Kinder« haben wir 2024 insgesamt 1626 Väter und kinderlose Männer zwischen 18 und 68 Jahren befragt – von der Generation Z über die Millennials (Y) und Generation X bis zurück zu den Babyboomern. Etwa die Hälfte der Männer waren bereits Vater, der Rest hatte (noch) keine Kinder. Unsere Ergebnisse zeigen: Was die Motive und Faktoren für oder gegen das Streben nach Elternschaft betrifft, finden sich bei Männern zwar Gemeinsamkeiten mit den Frauen, aber auch aufschlussreiche Unterschiede. Hier fassen wir sieben zentrale Erkenntnisse zum Thema »Kinderwunsch bei Männern« zusammen.
1. Nur wenige Männer wollten noch niemals Kinder
Die Frage nach dem Ausmaß gewollter Kinderlosigkeit offenbart ein zentrales Problem der Familienforschung. Sie lässt sich nämlich bislang weder für Frauen noch für Männer genau beantworten. Einer der Gründe: Erhebungen verwenden oft stark voneinander abweichende Kriterien für gewollte Kinderlosigkeit. Gehörten Kinder noch nie zum eigenen Lebensentwurf, oder will man nur im Moment keine? Und wenn man sich wegen ungewollter ungünstiger Umstände gegen Elternschaft entscheidet, ist man dann gewollt oder ungewollt kinderlos?
Laut dem »Väterreport 2023« wünschen sich von den kinderlosen Männern unter 30 Jahren beachtliche 90 Prozent »bestimmt«...
WEITERLESEN MIT »SPEKTRUM +«
Im Abo erhalten Sie exklusiven Zugang zu allen Premiumartikeln von »spektrum.de« sowie »Spektrum - Die Woche« als PDF- und App-Ausgabe. Testen Sie 30 Tage uneingeschränkten Zugang zu »Spektrum+« gratis:
Alert, K.: Kinderlosigkeit im Alter – (k)ein Thema?! Eine biografische Perspektive auf die sozialen Beziehungen und Generativität kinderloser älterer Menschen, 2021
Cornelißen, W. et al., Zeitschrift für Familienforschung, 10.3224/zff.v29i2.04, 2017
Heuschkel, A., Rahnfeld, C., Gewollte Kinderlosigkeit. Theoretische Einordnung und empirische Erkenntnisse zur Entscheidung von Frauen für ein Leben ohne Kinder, 2023
Rahnfeld, C., Heuschkel, A., Männer, Männlichkeit und (eigene) Kinder: Eine empirische Untersuchung der Entscheidung von Männern für oder gegen Kinder in Deutschland. Duale Hochschule Gera-Eisenach, 2024
Schreiben Sie uns!
Wenn Sie inhaltliche Anmerkungen zu diesem Artikel haben, können Sie die Redaktion per E-Mail informieren. Wir lesen Ihre Zuschrift, bitten jedoch um Verständnis, dass wir nicht jede beantworten können.
Bitte erlauben Sie Javascript, um die volle Funktionalität von Spektrum.de zu erhalten.
We Care About Your Privacy
We and our 222 partners store and access personal data, like browsing data or unique identifiers, on your device. Selecting I Accept enables tracking technologies to support the purposes shown under we and our partners process data to provide. Selecting Reject All or withdrawing your consent will disable them. If trackers are disabled, some content and ads you see may not be as relevant to you. You can resurface this menu to change your choices or withdraw consent at any time by clicking the Manage Preferences link on the bottom of the webpage. Your choices will have effect within our Website. For more details, refer to our Privacy Policy.
We and our partners process data to provide:
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
About Your Privacy
About Your Privacy
Your Privacy
Performance Cookies
Social Media Cookies
Targeting Cookies
Strictly Necessary Cookies
Functional Cookies
Google & IAB TCF 2 Purposes of Processing
Targeting (1st Party)
Targeting (3rd Party)
Store and/or access information on a device 195 partners can use this purpose
Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development 211 partners can use this purpose
Use precise geolocation data 63 partners can use this special feature
Actively scan device characteristics for identification 25 partners can use this special feature
Ensure security, prevent and detect fraud, and fix errors 161 partners can use this special purpose
Deliver and present advertising and content 157 partners can use this special purpose
Match and combine data from other data sources 111 partners can use this feature
Link different devices 103 partners can use this feature
Identify devices based on information transmitted automatically 133 partners can use this feature
Werbung (Nicht-IAB Lieferanten)
Save and communicate privacy choices 132 partners can use this special purpose
Politische Werbung
Your Privacy
We process your data to deliver content or advertisements and measure the delivery of such content or advertisements to extract insights about our website. We share this information with our partners on the basis of consent. You may exercise your right to consent, based on a specific purpose below or at a partner level in the link under each purpose. Some vendors may process your data based on their legitimate interests, which does not require your consent. You cannot object to tracking technologies placed to ensure security, prevent fraud, fix errors, or deliver and present advertising and content, and precise geolocation data and active scanning of device characteristics for identification may be used to support this purpose. This exception does not apply to targeted advertising. These choices will be signaled to our vendors participating in the Transparency and Consent Framework. The choices you make regarding the purposes and vendors listed in this notice are saved and stored locally on your device for a maximum duration of 7 days.
More information
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.
Social Media Cookies
These cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Strictly Necessary Cookies
Always Active
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Google & IAB TCF 2 Purposes of Processing
Allowing third-party ad tracking and third-party ad serving through Google and other vendors to occur. Please see more information on Google Ads
Targeting (1st Party)
These cookies may be set through our site by ourselves. They may be used by ourselves to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant content or adverts on our sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you may experience less personalised content and/or advertising.
Targeting (3rd Party)
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Store and/or access information on a device 195 partners can use this purpose
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development 211 partners can use this purpose
Use limited data to select advertising 165 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Create profiles for personalised advertising 140 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Use profiles to select personalised advertising 141 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Create profiles to personalise content 50 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Use profiles to select personalised content 44 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Measure advertising performance 182 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Measure content performance 78 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources 115 partners can use this purpose
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Develop and improve services 147 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Use limited data to select content 27 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
Use precise geolocation data 63 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Actively scan device characteristics for identification 25 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Ensure security, prevent and detect fraud, and fix errors 161 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Deliver and present advertising and content 157 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Match and combine data from other data sources 111 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Link different devices 103 partners can use this feature
Always Active
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Identify devices based on information transmitted automatically 133 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
Werbung (Nicht-IAB Lieferanten)
Diese Cookies können auf unserer Webseite von unseren Werbepartnern gesetzt werden. Sie können von diesen Werbepartnern verwendet werden, um ein Profil Ihrer Interessen zu erstellen und Ihnen relevante Werbung auf anderen Webseiten anzuzeigen. Sie speichern keine direkten persönlichen Daten, sondern basieren auf der eindeutigen Identifizierung Ihres Browsers und internetfähigen Endgerätes. Wenn Sie diese Cookies deaktivieren, werden Sie weniger zielgerichtete Werbung erhalten.
Save and communicate privacy choices 132 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
Politische Werbung
Ich willige ein, dass meine personenbezogenen Daten zum Zweck der Anzeige personalisierter politischer Werbung verarbeitet werden. Diese Werbung kann sich auf Wahlen, Referenden oder politische Entscheidungsprozesse beziehen und wird mir z. B. auf Grundlage meines Standorts und meines Nutzungsverhaltens auf diesem Angebot angezeigt.
Wenn Sie inhaltliche Anmerkungen zu diesem Artikel haben, können Sie die Redaktion per E-Mail informieren. Wir lesen Ihre Zuschrift, bitten jedoch um Verständnis, dass wir nicht jede beantworten können.