Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-j824f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-20T00:27:32.378Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

How Chinese Newlyweds’ Experiences as Singletons or Siblings Affect Their Fertility Desires

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 November 2020

Cong Zhang Open the ORCID record for Cong Zhang [Opens in a new window] ,
Aaron Z. Yang ,
Sung won Kim  and
Vanessa L. Fong
Cong Zhang*
Affiliation:
School of Social Development and Public Policy, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Aaron Z. Yang
Affiliation:
Anuban Muang Chiang Rai School, Chiang Rai, Thailand. Email: [email protected].
Sung won Kim
Affiliation:
Department of Education, Yonsei University, South Korea. Email: [email protected].
Vanessa L. Fong
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology and Sociology, Amherst College, USA. Email: [email protected].
*
Email: [email protected] (corresponding author).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Did growing up as singletons (only-children) convince young adults born under China's one-child policy of the superiority of singleton status and therefore the desirability of not having more than one child? This article draws on interviews with 52 childless newlyweds in Dalian, China, to help answer this question. We found that far from convincing them of the superiority of singleton status, the feelings of loneliness experienced by singletons in childhood and adulthood have convinced most of them that it is better to have a sibling than to be a singleton and thus it is better to have two children instead of one. Moreover, interviewees who did have siblings tended to corroborate singletons’ beliefs about how valuable a sibling can be in both childhood and adulthood.

摘要

摘要

作为独生子女长大的经历是否会使在中国独生子女政策下长大的年轻人认同独生子女身份的优越性，并因此希求只生育不超过一个孩子？本文基于对中国大连 52 对无子女新婚夫妇的访谈，对该问题作出解答。研究发现，童年时期和成年之后所经历的孤独感使受访者们并不认同独生子女地位的优越性，而是认为拥有兄弟姐妹优于作为独生子女。因此，生育两个以上的子女也优于仅生育一个子女。此外，非独生子女的受访者们也进一步证实了独生子女们所认同的，兄弟姐妹在童年时期和成年之后所具有的意义和价值。

Keywords

fertility preferencesonly-childrensiblingsone-child policytwo-child policyChina生育偏好独生子女兄弟姐妹独生子女政策二胎政策中国
Type
Research Article
Information
The China Quarterly , Volume 247 , September 2021 , pp. 835 - 854
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © SOAS University of London, 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anderton, Douglas L., Tsuya, Noriko O., Bean, Lee L. and Mineau, Geraldine P.. 1987. “Intergenerational transmission of relative fertility and life course patterns.” Demography 24(4), 467–480.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Attané, Isabelle. 2016. “Second child decisions in China.” Population and Development Review 42, 519–536.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Axinn, William G., Clarkberg, Marin E. and Thornton, Arland. 1994. “Family influences on family size preferences.” Demography 31(1), 65–79.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Barber, Jennifer S. 2000. “Intergenerational influences on the entry into parenthood: mothers’ preferences for family and nonfamily behavior.” Social Forces 79(1), 319–348.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Becker, Gary S. 1994. “Human capital revisited.” In Human Capital: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis with Special Reference to Education (3rd ed.). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Bernardi, Laura. 2016. “The intergenerational transmission of fertility.” In Scott, Robert A. and Kosslyn, Stephen M. (eds.), Emerging Trends in the Social and Behavioral Sciences. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, 1–16.Google Scholar
Blake, Judith. 1981. “The only child in America: prejudice versus performance.” Population and Development Review 7, 43–54CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Booth, Alison L., and Kee, Hiau Joo. 2009. “Birth order matters: the effect of family size and birth order on educational attainment.” Journal of Population Economics 22(2), 367–397.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bras, Hilde, Bavel, Jan Van and Mandemakers, Kees. 2013. “Unraveling the intergenerational transmission of fertility: genetic and shared-environment effects during the demographic transition in the Netherlands.” The History of the Family 18(2), 116–134.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Breton, Didier, and Prioux, France. 2009. “The one-child family: France in the European context.” Demographic Research 20, 657–692.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cai, Yong. 2010. “China's below-replacement fertility: government policy or socioeconomic development?” Population and Development Review 36(3), 419–440.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chen, Zeng-yin, and Liu, Ruth X.. 2014. “Comparing adolescent only children with those who have siblings on academic related outcomes and psychosocial adjustment.” Child Development Research 2014(3), 1–10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Doh, Hyun-Sim, and Falbo, Toni. 1999. “Social competence, maternal attentiveness, and overprotectiveness: only children in Korea.” International Journal of Behavioral Development 23(1), 149–162.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Falbo, Toni, and Polit, Denise F.. 1986. “Quantitative review of the only child literature: research evidence and theory development.” Psychological Bulletin 100(2), 176–189.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Falbo, Toni, and Poston, Dudley L.. 1993. “The academic, personality, and physical outcomes of only children in China.” Child Development 64(1), 18–35.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Falbo, Toni, Poston, Dudley L., Ji, G., Jiao, S., Jing, Q., Wang, S., Gu, Q. et al. 1989. “Physical, achievement and personality characteristics of Chinese children.” Journal of Biosocial Science 21(4), 483–496.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fong, Vanessa L. 2004. Only Hope: Coming of Age under China's One-child Policy. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Fong, Vanessa L. 2007. “Parent–child communication problems and the perceived inadequacies of Chinese only-children.” Ethos 35(1), 85–127.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gu, Baochang, Wang, Feng, Guo, Zhigang and Zhang, Erli. 2007. “China's local and national fertility policies at the end of the twentieth century.” Population and Development Review 33(1), 129–148.Google Scholar
Hull, Terence H. 1990. “Recent trends in sex ratios at birth in China.” Population and Development Review 16, 63–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jankowiak, William R., and Moore, Robert L.. 2016. Family Life in China. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons.Google Scholar
Jiang, Quanbao, Li, Ying and Sanchez-Barricarte, Jesús J.. 2016. “Fertility intention, son preference, and second childbirth: survey findings from Shaanxi province of China.” Social Indicators Research 125(3), 935–953.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jiao, Shulan, Ji, Guiping and Jing, Qicheng. 1986. “Comparative study of behavioral qualities of only children and sibling children.” Child Development 57(2), 357–361.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, Kay Ann. 2004. Wanting a Daughter, Needing a Son: Abandonment, Adoption, and Orphanage Care in China. St. Paul, MN: Yeong and Yeong Book Company.Google Scholar
Johnson, Kay Ann. 2017. China's Hidden Children: Abandonment, Adoption, and the Human Costs of the One-child Policy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Kim, Sung won, Brown, Kari-Elle and Fong, Vanessa L.. 2017. “Chinese individualisms: rearing the next generation of upwardly mobile Chinese middle class citizens.” Ethos 45(3), 342–366.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kipnis, Andrew. 2011. Governing Educational Desire: Culture, Politics, and Schooling in China. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kuan, Teresa. 2015. Love's Uncertainty: The Politics and Ethics of Child Rearing in Contemporary China. Oakland, CA: University of California Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laybourn, Ann. 1990. “Only children in Britain: popular stereotype and research evidence.” Children and Society 4(4), 386–400.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lesthaeghe, R. 1995. “The second demographic transition in Western countries: an interpretation.” In Mason, Karen Oppenheimer and Jensen, An-Magritt (eds.), Gender and Family Change in Industrialized Countries. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 17–62.Google Scholar
Liefbroer, Aart C. 2009. “Changes in family size intentions across young adulthood: a life course perspective.” European Journal of Population 25(4), 363–386.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Loh, Charis, and Remick, Elizabeth J.. 2015. “China's skewed sex ratio and the one-child policy.” The China Quarterly 222, 295–319.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Luo, Hao, and Mao, Zhuoyan. 2014. “From fertility intention to fertility behavior.” Asian Population Studies 10(2), 195–207.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mancillas, Adriean. 2006. “Challenging the stereotypes about only children: a review of the literature and implications for practice.” Journal of Counseling and Development 84(3), 268–275.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Murphy, Michael. 1999. “Is the relationship between fertility of parents and children really weak?” Social Biology 46(1–2), 122–145.Google ScholarPubMed
Murphy, Michael. 2013. “Cross-national patterns of intergenerational continuities in childbearing in developed countries.” Biodemography and Social Biology 59, 101–126.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Murphy, Michael, and Knudsen, L.B.. 2002. “The intergenerational transmission of fertility in contemporary Denmark: the effects of number of siblings (full and half), birth order, and whether male or female.” Population Studies 56(3), 235–248.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Murphy, Michael, and Wang, Duolao. 2002. “The impact of intergenerationally-transmitted fertility and nuptiality on population dynamics in contemporary populations.” In Rodgers, Joseph Lee and Kohler, Hans-Peter (eds.), Biodemography of Human Reproduction and Fertility. Boston, MA: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 209–228.Google Scholar
Parr, Nick. 2007. “Which women stop at one child in Australia?” Journal of Population Research 24(2), 207–225.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Qian, Zhenchao. 1997. “Progression to second birth in China: a study of four rural counties.” Population Studies 51(2), 221–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Regnier-Loilier, Arnaud. 2006. “Influence of own sibship size on the number of children desired at various times of life.” Population 3(61), 165–194.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roberts, Lisen C., and Blanton, Priscilla White. 2001. “‘I always knew mom and dad loved me best’: experiences of only children.” Journal of Individual Psychology 57(2), 125–140.Google Scholar
Rodgers, Joseph L., and Doughty, Debby. 2000. “Genetic and environmental influences on fertility expectations and outcomes using NLSY kinship data.” In Rodgers, Joseph Lee, Rowe, David C. and Miller, Warren B. (eds.), Genetic Influences on Human Fertility and Sexuality. Boston, MA: Kluwer, 85–106.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schoen, Robert, Astone, Nan Marie, Kim, Young J., Nathanson, Constance A. and Fields, Jason M.. 1999. “Do fertility intentions affect fertility behavior?” Journal of Marriage and Family 61(3), 790–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Short, Susan E., and Zhai, Fengying. 1998. “Looking locally at China's one-child policy.” Studies in Family Planning 29, 373–387.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Silles, Mary A. 2010. “The implications of family size and birth order for test scores and behavioral development.” Economics of Education Review 29(5), 795–803.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sobotka, Tomas, and Beaujouan, Eva. 2014. “Two is best? The persistence of a two-child family ideal in Europe.” Population and Development Review 40, 391–419.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Solomon, Erwin S., Clare, Jeanne E. and Westoff, Charles F.. 1956. “Social and psychological factors affecting fertility: fear of childlessness, desire to avoid an only child, and children's desires for siblings.” The Milbank Memorial Fund Quarterly 34(2), 160–177.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stolzenberg, Ross M., and Waite, Linda J.. 1977. “Age, fertility expectations and plans for employment.” American Sociological Review 42, 769–783.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Symeonidou, Haris. 2000. “Expected and actual family size in Greece: 1983–1997.” European Journal of Population 16(4), 335–352.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thornton, Arland. 1980. “The influence of first generation fertility and economic status on second generation fertility.” Population and Environment 3(1), 51–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Veenhoven, Ruut, and Verkuyten, Maykel. 1989. “The well-being of only children.” Adolescence; Roslyn Heights 24(93), 155–166.Google ScholarPubMed
Wei, Jieqiong, Xue, Jianhong and Wang, Duolao. 2018. “Socioeconomic determinants of rural women's desired fertility: a survey in rural Shaanxi, China.” PLOS One 13(9), 1–18.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Whyte, Martin King, Wang, Feng and Cai, Yong. 2015. “Challenging myths about China's one-child policy.” The China Journal 74, 144–159.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wibe, Felicia. 2017. “The Only Child Experience: A Study on How Having No Siblings Influences Childbearing Behavior.” PhD diss., Stockholm University.Google Scholar
Wolf, Margery. 1985. Revolution Postponed: Women in Contemporary China. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Wu, Qiong. 2016, “Sibship size and children's family resources: findings from a nationally representative survey in China.” The Journal of Early Adolescence 36(4), 575–594.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zeng, Yi. 1989. “Is the Chinese family planning program ‘tightening up’?” Population and Development Review 15, 333–37.Google Scholar
Zhan, Heying Jenny. 2004. “Willingness and expectations: intergenerational differences in attitudes toward filial responsibilities.” Marriage and Family Review 36(1–2), 175–200.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhang, Hong. 2007. “From resisting to ‘embracing’? the one-child rule: understanding new fertility trends in a central China village.” The China Quarterly 192, 855–875.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhang, Junsen. 2017. “The evolution of China's one-child policy and its effects on family outcomes.” Journal of Economic Perspectives 31(1), 141–160.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhang, Yuanting, and Goza, Franklin W.. 2006. “Who will care for the elderly in China? A review of the problems caused by China's one-child policy and their potential solutions.” Journal of Aging Studies 20(2), 151–164.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhao, Zhongwei, and Chen, Wei. 2011. “China's far below-replacement fertility and its long-term impact: comments on the preliminary results of the 2010 census.” Demographic Research 25(26), 819–836.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zheng, Zhenzhen, Cai, Yong, Wang, Feng and Gu, Baochang. 2009. “Below-replacement fertility and childbearing intention in Jiangsu province, China.” Asian Population Studies 5(3), 329–347.Google Scholar