I am a mature Early Career Researcher who is a world expert on male childlessness and ageing.
My previous careers include counsellor, deputy technical manager, scientific photographer, bar and kitchen assistant.
My auto/biographical PhD (Keele, 2015) examined the impact of involuntarily childless on the lives of older men. Previously I had self-funded my MA and MSc degrees at The University of Manchester, UK. My MA in Counselling (Merit, 2008) was a Grounded Theory study that explored childless men’s desire for fatherhood. My MSc in Research Methods (Distinction, 2009) was a mixed-methods study on the levels of desire for parenthood in childless people and parents.
Post PhD I have held a number of research consultant posts from systematic literature review projects on technology usage by Social and Care Workers; Fertility/Menstruation Apps; ECG devices**; fathers influence on infant feeding***; reports on Sexual Health; Haptics; to research on devices for people-living-with-dementia. Recently, I led and funded a research project that found anxious attachment in childhood predicted childlessness in later-life. I have written several invited academic pieces and I have supported several infertility and involuntary childless support groups through contributions to blogs and podcasts. I am a founder member of the campaign group Ageing without Children.
I am a working class Mancunian, born in Old Trafford, Manchester, UK. I am the seventh of eight children and left school in 1977 with very few qualifications. I worked as a university technician for 31 years before training, qualifying and practising as a counsellor. I then focused on academic research.
* Earle, Sarah, Hannah R. Marston, Robin A Hadley, and Duncan Banks. 2020. ‘Use of menstruation and fertility app trackers: a scoping review of the evidence’, BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health: bmjsrh-2019-200488.
**Marston, H. R., Hadley, R. A., Banks, D., & Duro, M. D. C. M. (2019). Mobile Self-monitoring ECG Devices to Diagnose Arrhythmia (AR) that coincide with Palpitations: A Scoping Review. JMIR Preprints. doi:10.2196/preprints.13251
*** Earle, S., & Hadley, R. (2018). Men’s views and experiences of infant feeding: A qualitative systematic review. Maternal & Child Nutrition, 14(13), e12586-n/a. doi:10.1111/mcn.12586
