Aging without children as well as without partner are associated with loneliness and missing support, when it comes to the need of care. While previous findings show that childless elders do not have significantly less intergenerational ties than older parents, they are more concerned about care dependency and generativity. There is little known about how they develop resilience over the life-course to cope with old age. This presentation conceives childlessness as a result of multiple biographical decisions instead of a ‘one time only’ decision. The qualitative approach of biography research was chosen to focus on individual and societal aspects of being childless throughout the life course and in the present. Data is drawn from ten in-depth interviews with childless and single older men and women (63–80 years old). First findings from the reconstruction of two cases allude to a positive self-image, in their narratives they actually seem to avoid negative references to stereotypes of childless elders. The interviewees perceive themselves as in whole embedded in their social networks, which consists mostly of long-standing relationships. They do not regret being childless, although participants with lesser intergenerational contacts address the lack of grandchildren. Along with this, missing social and intergenerational ties are linked to negative subjective well-being. These first findings from an ongoing Ph.D. study reveal the accumulated resources and risks of childless and single persons in old age. Besides, the biographical approach helps to gain a deeper understanding of childlessness as a lifelong process.
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