CHILDREN FOR SINGLE PARENTS FAMILIES IN CHINA

Children from Single-Parent Families in China are More Resistant and Independent
Divorce has been a taboo in China for thousands of years. However, the
changing cultural, social and political environment over the course of history
influenced many trends that affect the marriage institution. Currently, divorce rates
have increased and this has subsequently affected the emotional development of
children in children who are victims of divorce. In 2017, China officially ended the
34-year one-child policy. This policy completely changed China’s family structure
and drastically reduced the number of family numbers. One child policy also brought
a lot of social influences. After 1983, the family of three became a typical Chinese
family. Such a single-family structure is prone to more contradictions. After 2000,
with the rapid development of China, people started a fast-paced life. Inconsistencies
in the family are also increasing, and the divorce rate is rising. By 2010, the divorce
rate began to rise sharply, and by 2018 the divorce rate reached its highest point
(Zhang, Cheng, Wei, & Gong, 2018). It also means that there are increasing rates of
single-parent families in the country. After 2000, the only children became the biggest
victims of high divorce rates. They will face the double loneliness from single-parent
families and siblings. Therefore, the only child from a single-parent family has higher
stress resistance and stronger independence than from an intact family.
The literature on divorce among Chinese marriages link parents’ educational
level, lack of good parenting skills and occupation to children’s tendency to develop
anxiety, aggressive behavior, and poor school performance. There has been an age-
long debate on the differences in children’s behavior in both two-parent and single-
parent families. According to Su et al. (2013), children with two parents have a
stronger sense of physical and emotional support than children from single-parent
families. However, another study on high school children in China revealed that

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children from single-parent families had higher coping mechanism and resilience
compared to children from two-parent families (Chen & George, 2005). Although
research comparing children from both sets of families is rare, a recent study showed
that children from divorced parents demonstrated higher levels of depression and
other negative outcomes (Hamama & Ronen-Shenhav, 2012). However, these
negative behavior is associated with the context of parental setting. For instance,
children from a recently divorced family show higher levels of aggression, anxiety
and depression compared to children who are raised by single parents right from birth.
In addition, children who are introduced to single parenting from a young age have
better outcomes and deal with challenges better than children who have been part of a
stable two-parent set up for most part of their life, especially during the formative
years.
Migration and divorce are the major causes of one parenthood in China. In this
case, policies and culture in the country affect how children grow up in single-parent
household. A recent study that examined the challenges faced by single parents and
the impact it had on children found out that living with one parent had varying
consequences depending on factors such as public assistance and the support of
extended family members. In most cases, mothers head single-parent households,
close to 80 percent of cases after divorce. Furthermore, studies that explored the
single-parent households reveal that children from father-led households fare much
better compared to their counterparts from mother-led households (Wen & Lin, 2012).
However, cases where there are opposite gender relation report higher cases of
emotional and mental stability than in cases of same-gender parent relations in these
households.

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Children growing up in single-parent families encounter special challenges
compared to children living in two-homes due to the disparity in economic, human
and social resources that are available. However, it is specifically due to these
challenges that children from single-parent families learn to cope and develop better
stamina that children wo are from two-parent families. For instance, when children
lack financial resources in single-parent homes, they are more likely to sympathize
with the fact that their parent is doing the best they can to support them than a child
with two parents (Robbers et al., 2012). In most cases, children from two parent
families having a higher sense of entitlement since they understand that their parents
could be in a better financial position due to pooled resources.
Although there is a wide-spread concept that children from one-parent families
face more challenges growing up compared to children from two parent families,
there are numerous research articles that the former turn out to be more hardworking,
cope with challenges better and crave stability (Schmuck, 2013). This means that the
challenges such children face act as buffers to achieve cognitive, emotional and
psychological growth earlier than is standard for their peers.
While numerous research articles on educational attainment for children in
single-parent families show that they are more likely to achieve a lower educational
level that children in two-parent homes, this phenomenon is mostly linked to
educational attainment of the parents in question. For instance, a child from a single
parent home who parent is financially stable, has high educational attainment and
good social support is likely to pursue higher educational levels than a child from a
two-parent home but with financial insecurity, low educational attainment and poor
social support (Kreidl, Štípková, & Hubatková, 2017). As such, the environment at
home, regardless of whether it is a one-parent family or two-parent family. According

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to a recent study, children whose parents attended college are more likely to attend
college and graduate compared to children whose parents have never attended college
(Xu, Zhang, & Xia, 2008b). Moreover, a better educational attainment means more
exposure different life challenges that help children transition better into adulthood.
The phenomenon that children from single-parent homes are poorly behaved
and developed is a warped view to the reality of childhood development and later, the
type of transition into adulthood. Most studies are already biased with empirical
evidence for earlier studies that show children in single-parent families facing more
challenges compared to those from two-parent families (Xu, Zhang, & Xia, 2008a).
However, this entirely depends on the kind of environment at home. A toxic
environment is more likely to affect children’s growth and development regardless of
the parental status of the family. Although divorce affects the social, emotional and
psychological orientation of children who are affected, these children are forced to
adapt and rarely dwell on missing resources as excuses for aggressive behavior or
lack of success when they are adults. It is more likely that a child who has growth up
exposed to hardship is more likely to appreciate education and working hard.
However, this statement does not discredit efforts among children from two-parent
homes. Rather, the kind of emotional, psychological, cognitive and physical
development is not solely dependent on single-parenthood or two-parenthood. Other
factors, such as the availability of emotional and financial resources affect children’s
tendency to develop either negative or positive long-term behaviors.
 

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References

Chen, J. de, & George, R. A. (2005). Cultivating Resilience in Children From
Divorced Families. The Family Journal.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1066480705278686
Hamama, L., & Ronen-Shenhav, A. (2012). Self-control, social support, and
aggression among adolescents in divorced and two-parent families. Children
and Youth Services Review. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2012.02.009
Kreidl, M., Štípková, M., & Hubatková, B. (2017). Parental separation and children’s
education in a comparative perspective: Does the burden disappear when
separation is more common? Demographic Research.
https://doi.org/10.4054/DemRes.2017.36.3
Robbers, S., Van Oort, F., Huizink, A., Verhulst, F., Van Beijsterveldt, C., Boomsma,
D., & Bartels, M. (2012). Childhood problem behavior and parental divorce:
Evidence for gene-environment interaction. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric
Epidemiology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-011-0470-9
Schmuck, D. (2013). Single parenting: fewer negative effects of children’s behaviors
than claimed. Modern Psychological Studies, 18(2), 12.
Su, S., Li, X., Lin, D., Xu, X., & Zhu, M. (2013). Psychological adjustment among
left-behind children in rural China: The role of parental migration and parent-
child communication. Child: Care, Health and Development.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2214.2012.01400.x
Wen, M., & Lin, D. (2012). Child development in rural China: Children left behind by
their migrant parents and children of nonmigrant families. Child Development.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2011.01698.x

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Xu, A., Zhang, J., & Xia, Y. R. (2008a). Impacts of parents’ divorce on Chinese
children: A model with academic performance as a mediator. Marriage and
Family Review. https://doi.org/10.1300/J002v42n03_05
Xu, A., Zhang, J., & Xia, Y. R. (2008b). Impacts of Parents’ Divorce on Chinese
Children. Marriage & Family Review. https://doi.org/10.1300/j002v42n03_05
Zhang, J., Cheng, M., Wei, X., & Gong, X. (2018). Does mobile phone penetration
affect divorce rate? Evidence from China. Sustainability (Switzerland).
https://doi.org/10.3390/su10103701