ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we investigate the meanings that having a child connotes for young adults in Sweden. In a rare research design, we draw on both survey data and focus group interviews. Thus, we can utilize the strengths of both quantitative and qualitative information. Focus group interviews illuminate the social and cultural reasoning around the meaning of the child. Such data give us indications of dominant norms and the (im)possibility to deviate from the particular norm (Wetherell 1998). Survey data can provide a statistically reliable, generalizable picture of how young adults refer to lifestyle implications of having a child.
