Volume 44 - Article 25 | Pages 595–608
Recent trends in the Chinese family: National estimates from 1990 to 2010
Abstract
Background: Family in China has experienced drastic changes in the past decades. Yet we have limited knowledge of the trends and patterns of the Chinese family in transition.
Objective: This study provides a systematic documentation of the Chinese family in transition by estimating a variety of indicators of marital and fertility behaviors in China, including the singlehood rate, first marriage age, cohabitation rate, divorce rate, and nonmarital childbirth rate.
Methods: We analyze data from the 1990, 2000, and 2010 China Censuses, the 2005 1% China Population Inter-Census Surveys, and the 2010‒2016 China Family Panel Studies.
Results: The results indicate trends of delays in first marriage age and increases in premarital cohabitation in China. Despite below-replacement fertility, childlessness remains rare among married Chinese couples. In addition, almost all children are born and raised within marriage, with a virtual absence of nonmarital childbearing in China. Although we observe a slight increase in divorce across cohorts, the divorce rate within 10 years in China was much lower than in other East Asian societies.
Conclusions: Our research suggests both continuity and changes in marital and childbearing behaviors in China. The trajectory of family changes in China has not followed those in Western countries.
Contribution: This article documents the most recent Chinese family changes and provides national estimates of family behaviors in China.
Author’s Affiliation
- Jia Yu - Peking University, China EMAIL
- Yu Xie - Princeton University, United States of America EMAIL
Other articles by the same author/authors in Demographic Research
'Motherhood penalty' and 'fatherhood premium'? Fertility effects on parents in China
Volume 35 - Article 47
Most recent similar articles in Demographic Research
The partnership context of first parenthood – and how it varies by parental class and birth cohort in the United Kingdom
Volume 53 - Article 16
| Keywords:
cohabitation,
cohort analysis,
event history,
event history analysis,
family formation,
intergenerational inequality,
marriage,
parental socio-economic status,
parenthood,
single parenthood,
United Kingdom
Gendered labor market adjustments around marital and cohabiting union transitions during Europe’s early cohabitation diffusion
Volume 53 - Article 15
| Keywords:
adult equivalent household income,
cohabitation,
employment income,
gender inequalities,
hours worked,
intra-household specialization,
marriage,
union transitions
Where do we go from here? Partnership-parenthood trajectories of cohabitation as first union during young adulthood in the United States
Volume 53 - Article 9
| Keywords:
cohabitation,
family inequality,
fertility,
marriage,
race/ethnicity,
transition to adulthood,
union formation,
United States of America
The changing inter-relationship between partnership dynamics and fertility trends in Europe and the United States: A review
Volume 52 - Article 7
| Keywords:
childbearing,
Europe,
family complexity,
fertility,
fertility,
marriage,
partnership,
United States of America
Unmarried motherhood and infant health: The role of intimate partner violence in Colombia
Volume 52 - Article 6
| Keywords:
cohabitation,
Colombia,
infant health,
intimate partner violence,
low birthweight,
partnership status
Cited References: 27
Download to Citation Manager
PubMed
Google Scholar