Dr. Wes: I’ve noticed a trend that parallels the tendency of teens and young adults to eschew the idea of marriage. Fewer and fewer show any interest in having kids.

Initially, I jumped for joy to hear 16- and 17-year-olds making a solemn pledge to avoid unwanted pregnancies. Once upon a time, I gave this sociological puzzle to my interns: “What single physiological change in the population would most greatly impact the course of human development?”

My proposed answer was to increase the age of menarche — the point at which girls menstruate — to about 26, generating interesting discussion from “Oh yeah, what about boys?!” to “How would that impact human evolution?”

But my point was simpler than that. Today, young people mature far more slowly socio-culturally than they do physically. Reproduction in early adolescence made sense thousands of years ago when we only lived to be 30. It makes no sense now. Starting a family at 13 isn’t an asset anymore. In fact, the ideal age of reproduction is now between 26 and 30.

The teen and young adult pregnancy rate is substantially lower now than at any point in recent history. Young people have mastered birth control because they really don’t want to get pregnant and apparently, many can’t imagine themselves as parents, even later in life. And when I point out that teens aren’t really supposed to imagine being parents, they insist they won’t EVER change their minds.

Perhaps, teens and young adults feel disillusioned about the future, all too accustomed to the post-recession, “new normal” in which good careers are harder to find, even after long and stressful educations. If so, I have a new sociology puzzle: What if we’ve created such an abysmal world — or young people think we have — that they resign the core task of propagating our species?

Of course birth rates declined in previous eras of social stress and then boomed when things smoothed out. Maybe as todays’ teens reach their late 20s, they’ll turn from a natural inner-focus toward the biological urge to have their own kids.

Or as Kyra points out next, maybe not.

Kyra: I don’t want to have kids. I don’t mean, “I want to wait until I establish a career or backpack across Europe.” Like, I don’t want to have kids. Ever. And, I’m not alone.

With the exception of the post-war Baby Boom, America’s birthrate has steadily decreased since our nation’s own conception. My generation is extending that trend.

In 2013, University of Pennsylvania Professor Stewart D. Friedman wrote “Baby Bust: New Choices for Men and Women in Work and Family” in which he addresses this exact issue. Among hundreds of other questions, Friedman asked his students: “Do you plan to have or adopt children?” In 1992, 78 percent of both men and women answered yes. In 2012, only 42 percent did.

Friedman attributes more causes to the sharp decline we can cover here, but in my opinion, the most notable are:

• Social obligation. In most industrialized nations, a woman’s purpose no longer centers on baby-making and housekeeping. A 2012 Centers for Disease Control report notes the rate of first birth for women aged 35-39 has increased substantially since 1970. Women feel freer to wait longer to start a family or to not do so at all.
• Economic distress. Pew Research Center findings agree with Wes. Recent drops in reproduction link closely to economic distress. States suffering most in 2007 had the most drastic birth rate declines over the following years. With minimum wage inadequate to support a family and the economy constantly in question, bringing a baby into the equation may seem especially daunting now.
• Fear. When it comes to equality and justice, my generation has watched our country take a couple steps forward and several back. We see police brutality in Ferguson, Mo., and dismissive responses to rape on college campuses. We question the ethics of bringing more humans into this mess.

During the Baby Boom, it appeared selfish not to have children. Today, the opposite almost seems true. I hear what Wes is saying. I’m 17 years old. Maybe, someday I’ll change my mind. However, until these issues seem resolved or resolvable, I don’t see diapers or highchairs in my future — outside of the occasional babysitting gig.

Wes Crenshaw, Ph.D., ABPP, is author of “I Always Want to Be Where I’m Not: Successful Living with ADD & ADHD.” Learn about his writing and practice at dr-wes.com. Kyra Haas is a Free State High School senior who blogs at justfreakinghaasome.wordpress.com. Send your confidential 200-word question to ask@dr-wes.com. Double Take opinions and advice are not a substitute for psychological services.