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A quarter of adults don't want children

Being Child-free - Level 0

Views on children are changing in the USA. A quarter of adults are happy being "child-free". Researchers looked at why child-free people are different from "non-parents". These are "not-yet-parents" - those planning to have kids, and people who cannot have children because of medical problems.

Researchers looked at information from 1,000 adults. They said child-free people were more liberal than parents. Parents were more likely to be in a relationship. Child-free adults were younger and less well-educated than parents. The researchers said more research would find out why people want to be child-free.

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Being Child-free - Level 1

Views on children are changing in the USA. Research shows that 25 per cent of adults do not want children. A quarter of American adults are happy being "child-free". Two psychologists did research on why child-free people might be different from "non-parents". They said non-parents are "not-yet-parents" (those planning to have kids) and people who cannot have children because of medical problems.

Researchers looked at data from 1,000 adults. They were surprised by how many child-free people there were. They said child-free people were more liberal than parents. Unsurprisingly, parents were more likely to be in a relationship. Child-free adults were a little younger and less well-educated than parents or non-parents. The researchers added that more research would find out why people want to be child-free.

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Being Child-free - Level 2

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Views on having children are changing in the USA. New research shows that 25 per cent of adults do not want to have children. A quarter of American adults are happy being "child-free". They are happier without children. Psychologists Jennifer Watling Neal and Zachary Neal did research on why child-free people might be different. They wanted to find out what the differences were between child-free people and "non-parents". They said non-parents include "not-yet-parents" (those planning to have kids) and people who cannot have children because of medical problems.

The researchers looked at data from 1,000 adults. Ms Neal said: "We were most surprised by how many child-free people there are. We found that more than one in four people...identified as child-free." She said child-free people were more liberal than those with children. Unsurprisingly, parents were more likely to be in a relationship. Ms Neal also said child-free adults were a little younger and less well-educated than parents or non-parents. She added that more research is needed to find out why people want to be child-free.

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Being Child-free - Level 3

It seems views on having children are changing in the USA. New research shows that 25 per cent of adults do not want to have children. A study from Michigan State University (MSU) reveals that a quarter of American adults are happy to be "child-free". It says these people do not want children and are happier without them. MSU psychologists Jennifer Watling Neal and Zachary Neal did research on why people who do not want children might be different. They wanted to find out what the differences were between these child-free people and "non-parents". They said non-parents include "not-yet-parents" (those planning to have kids) and people who cannot have kids due to medical problems.

The researchers looked at data from 1,000 adults who took part in an MSU survey. Ms Neal said: "We were most surprised by how many child-free people there are. We found that more than one in four people...identified as child-free, which is much higher than...in previous studies." She said child-free people were more liberal than those with children, who were more conservative. She found that unsurprisingly, parents were more likely to be in a relationship. Around half of the child-free adults were single. Ms Neal also said child-free adults were a little younger and less well-educated than parents or non-parents. She added that more research is needed to find out why people make the decision to be child-free.

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