Table 1.
Comparison of children characteristics, socio-economic characteristics, family relationship between firstborn and only children, n (%), Chi-square test.
| Factors | All children | Firstborn children | Only children | χ 2 | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (n = 1,155) | (n = 477) | (n = 678) | |||
| Children characteristics | |||||
| Age of children | 50.502** | 0.000 | |||
| 6–9 years | 795 (69.01) | 382 (80.59) | 413 (60.91) | ||
| 10–12 years | 357 (30.99) | 92 (19.41) | 265 (39.09) | ||
| Children gender | 0.174 | 0.676 | |||
| Male | 568 (49.18) | 231 (48.53) | 337 (49.78) | ||
| Female | 585 (50.65) | 245 (51.47) | 340 (50.22) | ||
| Family type | 15.683** | 0.000 | |||
| Nuclear family | 370 (32.03) | 121 (25.64) | 249 (36.73) | ||
| Extended family | 780 (67.53) | 351 (74.36) | 429 (63.27) | ||
| Primary carer of a child | 6.547* | 0.038 | |||
| Parenting | 911 (78.87) | 364 (76.47) | 547 (80.68) | ||
| Parenting and grand-parenting | 216 (18.70) | 95 (19.96) | 121 (17.85) | ||
| Grand-parenting | 27 (2.34) | 17 (3.57) | 10 (1.47) | ||
| Type of temperament | 14.579** | 0.001 | |||
| Easy to raise | 960 (83.12) | 421 (88.82) | 539 (80.45) | ||
| Difficult to raise | 89 (7.71) | 27 (5.70) | 62 (9.25) | ||
| Slow development | 95 (8.23) | 26 (5.49) | 69 (10.30) | ||
| Socio-economic situation of the family | |||||
| Total annual household income (RMB) | 106.289** | 0.000 | |||
| <120,000 | 581 (50.30) | 161 (35.15) | 420 (63.44) | ||
| 120,001–240,000 | 379 (32.81) | 186 (40.61) | 193 (29.15) | ||
| 240,001–360,000 | 89 (7.71) | 60 (13.10) | 29 (4.38) | ||
| >360,000 | 71 (6.15) | 51 (11.14) | 20 (3.02) | ||
| Family financial pressure | 34.82** | 0.000 | |||
| No pressure | 48 (4.16) | 14 (2.95) | 34 (5.07) | ||
| Less pressure | 196 (16.97) | 83 (17.51) | 113 (16.84) | ||
| Medium pressure | 574 (49.70) | 273 (57.59) | 301 (44.86) | ||
| Higher pressure | 255 (22.08) | 93 (19.62) | 162 (24.14) | ||
| Great pressure | 72 (6.23) | 11 (2.32) | 61 (9.09) | ||
| Father education | 78.834** | 0.000 | |||
| Junior high school and below | 158 (13.68) | 37 (7.77) | 121 (17.87) | ||
| Senior high school | 298 (25.80) | 87 (18.28) | 211 (31.17) | ||
| College and undergraduate | 625 (54.11) | 300 (63.03) | 325 (48.01) | ||
| Master degree or above | 72 (6.23) | 52 (10.92) | 20 (2.95) | ||
| Mother education | 62.591** | 0.000 | |||
| Junior high school and below | 137 (11.86) | 31 (6.51) | 106 (15.63) | ||
| Senior high school | 326 (28.23) | 99 (20.80) | 227 (33.48) | ||
| College and undergraduate | 647 (56.02) | 317 (66.60) | 330 (48.67) | ||
| Master degree or above | 44 (3.81) | 29 (6.09) | 15 (2.21) | ||
| Father's occupation | 114.723** | 0.000 | |||
| Leadership and management | 93 (8.05) | 44 (9.30) | 49 (7.27) | ||
| Professional and technical staff | 281 (24.33) | 155 (32.77) | 126 (18.69) | ||
| Office clerks | 103 (8.92) | 59 (12.47) | 44 (6.53) | ||
| Business service personnel | 248 (21.47) | 59 (12.47) | 189 (28.04) | ||
| Workers | 178 (15.41) | 33 (6.98) | 145 (21.51) | ||
| Personal entrepreneurship | 202 (17.49) | 105 (22.20) | 97 (14.39) | ||
| Other | 42 (3.63) | 18 (3.80) | 24 (3.56) | ||
| Mother's occupation | 76.271** | 0.000 | |||
| Leadership and management | 52 (4.50) | 23 (4.88) | 29 (4.30) | ||
| Professional and technical staff | 266 (23.03) | 141 (29.94) | 125 (18.52) | ||
| Office clerks | 157 (13.59) | 76 (16.14) | 81 (12.00) | ||
| Business service personnel | 249 (21.56) | 59 (12.53) | 190 (28.15) | ||
| Workers | 74 (6.41) | 18 (3.82) | 56 (8.30) | ||
| Personal entrepreneurship | 137 (11.86) | 64 (13.59) | 73 (10.81) | ||
| Full-time mothers | 142 (12.29) | 51 (10.83) | 91 (13.48) | ||
| Other | 69 (5.97) | 39 (8.28) | 30 (4.44) | ||
| Family relationship and parenting style | |||||
| Parental relationship | 16.707** | 0.000 | |||
| Very good | 615 (53.25) | 268 (56.42) | 347 (51.18) | ||
| Relatively good | 376 (32.55) | 164 (34.53) | 212 (31.27) | ||
| General | 162 (14.03) | 43 (9.05) | 119 (17.55) | ||
| Father-child relationship | 5.163 | 0.076 | |||
| Very good | 693 (60.00) | 295 (62.11) | 398 (58.79) | ||
| Relatively good | 358 (31.00) | 149 (31.37) | 209 (30.87) | ||
| General | 101 (8.74) | 31 (6.53) | 70 (10.34) | ||
| Mother-child relationship | 3.334 | 0.189 | |||
| Very good | 836 (72.38) | 358 (75.37) | 478 (70.50) | ||
| Relatively good | 280 (24.24) | 103 (21.68) | 177 (26.11) | ||
| General | 37 (3.20) | 14 (2.95) | 23 (3.39) | ||
| Family atmosphere | 12.886** | 0.002 | |||
| Very harmony | 275 (23.81) | 126 (26.47) | 149 (21.98) | ||
| Comparative harmony | 742 (64.24) | 312 (65.55) | 430 (63.42) | ||
| General | 137 (11.86) | 38 (7.98) | 99 (14.60) | ||
| Father's parenting style | 13.586** | 0.004 | |||
| Democratic | 715 (61.90) | 321 (68.59) | 394 (58.54) | ||
| Authoritarian | 211 (18.27) | 79 (16.88) | 132 (19.61) | ||
| Permissive | 112 (9.70) | 37 (7.91) | 75 (11.14) | ||
| Neglecting | 103 (8.92) | 31 (6.62) | 72 (10.70) | ||
| Mother's parenting style | 12.499** | 0.006 | |||
| Democratic | 845 (73.16) | 369 (78.85) | 476 (70.94) | ||
| Authoritarian | 196 (16.97) | 60 (12.82) | 136 (20.27) | ||
| Permissive | 76 (6.58) | 28 (5.98) | 48 (7.15) | ||
| Neglecting | 22 (1.90) | 11 (2.35) | 11 (1.64) | ||
*
p < 0.05;
**
p < 0.01.