Quality of life, intellectual development and behavioural characteristics of single children in China: evidence from a 1980 survey in Changsha, Hunan Province.

Abstract

SummaryThis paper reports the results of a June 1980 survey of 1069 children in Changsha, Hunan Province. The data have been unavailable previously either in Chinese or in English. In general, they suggest that comparisons of single children with children from multiple-child families in China regarding quality of life, intellectual development, and behavioural traits are similar to comparisons conducted in the United States and other western countries. As in many western studies, single children in China appear to have a better quality of life than children with siblings. Regarding intellectual development, single children in China perform better than those with siblings, a finding which is consonant with the family intactness model of Falbo. Single children in Changsha are little different from ones from multiple-child families on various aspects of behaviour, and are more co-operative and less hostile. These findings are the opposite of those of the Shanghai study, the other major analysis of single children in China; the Shanghai survey indicated that single children were not as well-behaved as those with siblings, a finding that caused some concern among Chinese social scientists. To the extent that the findings of the Changsha study, and not those of the Shanghai study, reflect the situation of single children in China, this could mean that the one-child family planning campaign may not be having a negative impact on children's behaviour.