A Life Without Children: Unpacking the Relationship Between Childlessness and Loneliness in Adulthood

Research on the relation between childlessness and loneliness is limited and inconclusive. While some studies link childlessness to higher loneliness, others find no association. Few studies distinguish between distinct loneliness types (social, emotional, and existential) or life stages. This article explores how childlessness relates to various loneliness types across adult life stages, using cross-sectional data from the 2024 “A Lonely Planet” survey ( N = 3,756) in Flanders, Belgium. Results show that childless adults are lonelier (for all loneliness types) than parents, also when controlling for socio-demographic variables. However, this relationship depends on age and loneliness type: younger childless adults (18–34) face more social and existential loneliness than parents; middle-aged (35–64) childless adults experience all types more; older adults (65–74) experience more emotional and overall loneliness; no loneliness differences were found between childless adults and parents (75+). These findings underscore the need for a nuanced understanding of childlessness and loneliness.