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Page 1
University of Missouri, St. Louis
IRL @ UMSL
Dissertations UMSL Graduate Works
12-12-2016
The Public Consequences of a Personal Choice:
The Impact of the Decision to be Childfree in
Family-Friendly America
Emily Ingalls
University of Missouri-St. Louis
Follow this and additional works at: https://irl.umsl.edu/dissertation
Part of the Psychology Commons
This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the UMSL Graduate Works at IRL @ UMSL. It has been accepted for inclusion in
Dissertations by an authorized administrator of IRL @ UMSL. For more information, please contact [email protected]
Recommended Citation
Ingalls, Emily, "The Public Consequences of a Personal Choice: The Impact of the Decision to be Childfree in Family-Friendly
America" (2016). Dissertations. 45.
https://irl.umsl.edu/dissertation/45
https://irl.umsl.edu?utm_source=irl.umsl.edu%2Fdissertation%2F45&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages
https://irl.umsl.edu/dissertation?utm_source=irl.umsl.edu%2Fdissertation%2F45&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages
https://irl.umsl.edu/grad?utm_source=irl.umsl.edu%2Fdissertation%2F45&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages
https://irl.umsl.edu/dissertation?utm_source=irl.umsl.edu%2Fdissertation%2F45&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages
http://network.bepress.com/hgg/discipline/404?utm_source=irl.umsl.edu%2Fdissertation%2F45&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages
https://irl.umsl.edu/dissertation/45?utm_source=irl.umsl.edu%2Fdissertation%2F45&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages
mailto:[email protected]
Page 2
The Public Consequences of a Personal Choice:
The Impact of the Decision to be Childfree in Family-Friendly America
Emily A. Ingalls
M. A., Psychology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, 2012
B.A. Psychology, Coe College, 2010
A Dissertation Submitted to The Graduate School at the University of Missouri-St. Louis in
partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology with an emphasis in Industrial and Organizational
December 2016
Advisory Committee
Mark Tubbs, Ph.D.
Chairperson
Stephanie Merritt, Ph.D.
John Meriac, Ph.D.
Alice Hall, Ph.D.
Copyright, Emily A. Ingalls, 2016
Page 79
CHILDFREE IN FAMILY-FRIENDLY AMERICA 78
Asian, or racially ambiguous adults. Furthermore, a comparison between adults of
different races would create an interesting comparison between parent status, gender, and
increasingly global and diverse workforce.
The results of this study suggest the potential for variance based on the individual
manipulate this variable specifically, future research should examine if results vary if the
decision-maker is mentioned directly. It is possible that the sex of the target could
magnify existing differences between parents and non-parents.
This study also did not manipulate the job type of the target, but rather chose a
deliberately gender-neutral job type. Given the impact of parent status on interpersonal
warmth found in the study, it would be interesting to examine if this result is augmented
when in a more traditionally female-dominated job type (e.g., nurse, teacher) or
attenuated when in a traditionally male-dominated job type (e.g., engineer). In addition to
job type, different industries could be studied as well. It is possible that differences based
on parent status could be found when comparing more traditional industries (e.g.,
manufacturing) to more progressive industries (e.g., technology). Variance may emerge
on workplace variables surrounding promotability as a result.
Finally, part of the request made by the target across the conditions in this
research is for the organization to develop a formal work-from-home policy that
stipulates the requirements to work-from-home and makes it possible for fairness to be
achieved across the board. Though actual support and acceptance of the policy may vary
from team-to-team or job-to-job, future research should examine the role of formal policy
Page 158
CHILDFREE IN FAMILY-FRIENDLY AMERICA 157
Figures
Figure 1. Social Deviance for Parent Status x Target Gender
Figure 2. Interpersonal Warmth for Parent Status x Target Gender
2.75
2.8
2.85
2.9
2.95
3
3.05
3.1
3.15
3.2
3.25
3.3
Childfree Childless Parent
S
o
c
ia
l
D
e
v
ia
n
c
e
Parent Status
Male
Female
3.8
3.9
4
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
4.5
4.6
4.7
4.8
4.9
Childfree Childless Parent
In
te
rp
e
rs
o
n
a
l
W
a
rm
th
Parent Status
Male
Female
University of Missouri, St. Louis
IRL @ UMSL
Dissertations UMSL Graduate Works
12-12-2016
The Public Consequences of a Personal Choice:
The Impact of the Decision to be Childfree in
Family-Friendly America
Emily Ingalls
University of Missouri-St. Louis
Follow this and additional works at: https://irl.umsl.edu/dissertation
Part of the Psychology Commons
This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the UMSL Graduate Works at IRL @ UMSL. It has been accepted for inclusion in
Dissertations by an authorized administrator of IRL @ UMSL. For more information, please contact [email protected]
Recommended Citation
Ingalls, Emily, "The Public Consequences of a Personal Choice: The Impact of the Decision to be Childfree in Family-Friendly
America" (2016). Dissertations. 45.
https://irl.umsl.edu/dissertation/45
https://irl.umsl.edu?utm_source=irl.umsl.edu%2Fdissertation%2F45&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages
https://irl.umsl.edu/dissertation?utm_source=irl.umsl.edu%2Fdissertation%2F45&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages
https://irl.umsl.edu/grad?utm_source=irl.umsl.edu%2Fdissertation%2F45&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages
https://irl.umsl.edu/dissertation?utm_source=irl.umsl.edu%2Fdissertation%2F45&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages
http://network.bepress.com/hgg/discipline/404?utm_source=irl.umsl.edu%2Fdissertation%2F45&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages
https://irl.umsl.edu/dissertation/45?utm_source=irl.umsl.edu%2Fdissertation%2F45&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages
mailto:[email protected]
Page 2
The Public Consequences of a Personal Choice:
The Impact of the Decision to be Childfree in Family-Friendly America
Emily A. Ingalls
M. A., Psychology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, 2012
B.A. Psychology, Coe College, 2010
A Dissertation Submitted to The Graduate School at the University of Missouri-St. Louis in
partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology with an emphasis in Industrial and Organizational
December 2016
Advisory Committee
Mark Tubbs, Ph.D.
Chairperson
Stephanie Merritt, Ph.D.
John Meriac, Ph.D.
Alice Hall, Ph.D.
Copyright, Emily A. Ingalls, 2016
Page 79
CHILDFREE IN FAMILY-FRIENDLY AMERICA 78
Asian, or racially ambiguous adults. Furthermore, a comparison between adults of
different races would create an interesting comparison between parent status, gender, and
increasingly global and diverse workforce.
The results of this study suggest the potential for variance based on the individual
manipulate this variable specifically, future research should examine if results vary if the
decision-maker is mentioned directly. It is possible that the sex of the target could
magnify existing differences between parents and non-parents.
This study also did not manipulate the job type of the target, but rather chose a
deliberately gender-neutral job type. Given the impact of parent status on interpersonal
warmth found in the study, it would be interesting to examine if this result is augmented
when in a more traditionally female-dominated job type (e.g., nurse, teacher) or
attenuated when in a traditionally male-dominated job type (e.g., engineer). In addition to
job type, different industries could be studied as well. It is possible that differences based
on parent status could be found when comparing more traditional industries (e.g.,
manufacturing) to more progressive industries (e.g., technology). Variance may emerge
on workplace variables surrounding promotability as a result.
Finally, part of the request made by the target across the conditions in this
research is for the organization to develop a formal work-from-home policy that
stipulates the requirements to work-from-home and makes it possible for fairness to be
achieved across the board. Though actual support and acceptance of the policy may vary
from team-to-team or job-to-job, future research should examine the role of formal policy
Page 158
CHILDFREE IN FAMILY-FRIENDLY AMERICA 157
Figures
Figure 1. Social Deviance for Parent Status x Target Gender
Figure 2. Interpersonal Warmth for Parent Status x Target Gender
2.75
2.8
2.85
2.9
2.95
3
3.05
3.1
3.15
3.2
3.25
3.3
Childfree Childless Parent
S
o
c
ia
l
D
e
v
ia
n
c
e
Parent Status
Male
Female
3.8
3.9
4
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
4.5
4.6
4.7
4.8
4.9
Childfree Childless Parent
In
te
rp
e
rs
o
n
a
l
W
a
rm
th
Parent Status
Male
Female
