Exploring Psychopathology in Antinatalist and Childfree Individuals: A Cross‐Sectional Analysis

ABSTRACT As fertility rates decline in industrialized nations, an increasing number of adults expect to remain without children. While often grouped together in demographic studies, non‐parents comprise diverse subgroups with distinct motivations. Despite growing discourse around reproductive choices, the psychological functioning of these specific subgroups remains poorly understood. This cross‐sectional study recruited 492 non‐parent adults from the United Kingdom via Prolific. Participants were categ o rized as childless ( N = 258; desire children or undecided), childfree ( N = 199; do not desire children for personal, social, or economic reasons), or antinatalist ( N = 35; do not desire children for moral or ethical reasons). Participants completed the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale‐21 (DASS‐21), Child Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), Experiences in Close Relationships—Revised (ECR‐R), Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ), and Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire—Revised (SBQ‐R). Group differences were analyzed using Kruskal‐Wallis tests and quantile regression, adjusting for age, education, marital status, and ethnicity. Significant demographic differences were found between the groups in age, education level, marital status, and ethnicity. Unadjusted analyses showed that childless individuals reported significantly higher levels of depression, anxiety, stress, attachment anxiety, and search for meaning compared to childfree individuals. After adjusting for demographic covariates, most of these group differences became non‐significant. However, childfree individuals still showed significantly lower attachment anxiety (at the median), lower reported childhood physical abuse (at the upper quantile), and lower suicidal ideation (at the lower quantile) compared to childless individuals. No evidence emerged that antinatalists experienced greater psychological distress than the other groups. After accounting for demographic factors, psychological differences among antinatalist, childfree, and childless individuals were minimal. Demographic characteristics, rather than reproductive stances, largely accounted for observed variations. These findings counter narratives portraying voluntarily childless individuals, particularly antinatalists, as psychologically maladjusted. However, the small antinatalist sample size ( n = 35) severely limited statistical power.