20 September 2022

People without children remain a largely invisible, excluded population, socially and economically. Despite the growth in the number of people without children, ranging from 20%-30% globally, statistics and policy consideration to meet the needs and realities of our community remain outside the mainstream. This is particularly true in academic research, social and economic planning, and policy development. Today, we will be in conversation with Dr. Zachary Neal, an associate professor of psychology and global urban studies at Michigan State University, and Dr. Jennifer Watling Neal, a professor of psychology at Michigan State University. We will discuss their recently released research findings on childfree demographics and neighborhood satisfaction for those who do not have children. We will also assess some of the ways we can best create change on the basis of greater data-driven information, that reflects our community.

Dr. Zachary Neal
Dr. Zachary Neal is an associate professor of psychology and global urban studies at Michigan State University. He is the author of four books and over 90 peer-reviewed research articles, and serves as the editor of two scholarly journals: Evidence & Policy, and Global Networks. He started researching the childfree population with his collaborator and spouse, Jenna Watling Neal, in 2019. His other research focuses on developing statistical models for understanding social networks.

Dr. Jennifer Watling Neal
Dr. Jennifer Watling Neal is a professor of psychology at Michigan State University. She is the author of 70 peer-reviewed research articles and is an associate editor for the journal, Social Development. Most of Jennifer’s published work focuses on understanding children’s and teachers’ social networks in public schools. However, along with her collaborator and spouse, Zachary Neal, she has an emerging line of research focused on understanding the prevalence and characteristics of childfree adults.

Play episode here:

Transcript coming soon!

Learn more about Dr. Zachary Neal’s research here.

Learn more about Dr. Jennifer Watling Neal’s research here.