Changing socialization values for children in China, 1990–2012

Abstract

This research examines recent trends in child socialization values in China. Drawing on repeated cross-sectional datasets from World Values Survey in 1990, 1995, 2001, 2007 and 2012, we assess birth cohort changes and time trends in three dimensions of child socialization values: self-actualization, survival security, and other-orientedness. Results from APC models show that Chinese adults emphasize self-actualization the most and other-orientedness the least, with survival security in between. Early life conditions and formative experiences shape cohort differences. Younger cohorts in general value self-actualization and survival security more than other cohorts. Cohort variations in other-orientedness reveal a flat trend. Between 1990 and 2012 there are period-specific variations in these values, though a simple upward or downward shift in the three dimensions is not found. Socioeconomic development and demographic shifts partially explain the period variations in survival security value dimension. Together, these results unravel the complex trends of socialization values for children as Chinese families adapt to a range of society-wide changes and generational successions, shedding new light on the effects of period, cohort, and social changes on childrearing norms.