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Mothers’ Subjective Well-Being after Having a Second Child in Current China: A Case Study of Xi’an City

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  • Jianghua Liu

    (The Institute for Population & Development Studies, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China)

  • Zhongliang Zhou

    (The School of Public Policy & Administration, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China)

Abstract

The introduction of the two-child family planning policy in China calls for a study of the response of mothers’ subjective well-being after the birth of a second child. Generally focusing on Western countries, previous studies suggested that a series of factors could influence the response, but insufficient attention has been paid to the relative importance of these factors so far. Based on survey data from mothers of two children in the Xi’an metropolitan area, Shaanxi Province, China, our study indicates that the important factors associated with mothers’ life satisfaction after having a second child were, in general, common to Western countries and China. There were also two factors somewhat unique to China: positive adjustment (i.e., becoming happier) by firstborn children (average age, 6 years old) following a sibling’s birth, predicted enhanced life satisfaction for mothers; additionally, mothers who had both a son and a daughter reported the highest increase in life satisfaction, while mothers who had two sons reported the lowest increase. Socioenvironmental constraints (i.e., parenting pressure and work–family conflict) had a larger association with mothers’ life satisfaction than individual ideational factors (e.g., family orientation and fertility desire). These findings suggest that fertility-friendly policies and convenient family intervention institutions are needed to alleviate potential undesirable consequences and improve maternal life quality following a second childbirth so that the two-child policy can be a success.

Suggested Citation

  • Jianghua Liu & Zhongliang Zhou, 2019. "Mothers’ Subjective Well-Being after Having a Second Child in Current China: A Case Study of Xi’an City," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(20), pages 1-14, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:20:p:3823-:d:274984
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    Cited by:

    1. Ling Xu & Jianghua Liu, 2020. "The Turnover Intention among Grassroots Family Planning Staff in the Context of China’s Universal Two-Child Policy: A Case Study of the Xi’an City," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(22), pages 1-18, November.
    2. Ying Qian & Xiao-ying Liu & Bing Fang & Fan Zhang & Rui Gao, 2020. "Investigating Fertility Intentions for a Second Child in Contemporary China Based on User-Generated Content," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-15, May.
    3. Ran Zhuo & Xiaoxue Shi & Ying Wu, 2022. "Association between Parent-Child Relationship and Second-Time Mother’s Prenatal Depressive Symptoms: The Mediation Role of Parenting Burnout," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-11, December.
    4. Xiumin Hong & Jingyuan Wang & Wenting Zhu, 2022. "The Relationship between Childcare Services Participation and Parental Subjective Well-Being under China’s Three-Child Policy—Based on the Mediation Effect of Parenting Stress," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-18, December.

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